BILL NUMBER: S2525

SPONSOR: LITTLE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the labor law, in relation to exempting agricultural
employers from paying for unemployment benefits for federally ineligible
farm labor

 
PURPOSE:

To exempt employers of alien agricultural labor from paying for unem-
ployment coverage on those workers who are federally ineligible from
receiving such benefits.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 - subdivision 2 of section 564 of the labor law is renumbered
subdivision 3 and a new subdivision 2 is added to exclude from the term
"employment" an individual who is an alien admitted to the United States
to perform agricultural labor. This will conform New York State statute
              

to section 214(c) and 101(a)(15)(H) of the Federal Immigration and
Nationality act if they are excluded from the definition of employment
in section 3306(c) of the Federal Unemployment tax Act.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Currently New York is the only state in the country that requires agri-
cultural employers to pay unemployment insurance premiums for federally
ineligible farm labor. This bill would rectify this inequity in the New
York State Labor Law by exempting agricultural employers from paying for
unemployment coverage for H-2A visa farm workers. Currently, New York
agricultural employers who participate in the H-2A visa farm worker
program are required to pay unemployment insurance premiums for these
temporary visa workers. However, section 3306(c) of the Federal Unem-
ployment Tax Act excludes these guest workers from collecting unemploy-
ment insurance benefits for their work in the US as they must return to
their home countries. Thus, New York agricultural employers are contrib-
uting to an unemployment insurance plan that can never be collected on
by the employee.

It is important to note that these guest laborers perform a valuable
service to the agricultural community by performing work which otherwise
would not be performed by the local labor force. Farmers must take
advantage of hiring H-2A visa farm laborers when they are unable to hire
domestic workers for these positions.

If enacted, the bill will have a negligible impact on the unemployment
insurance fund, and no impact on the individuals hired through the H-2A
visa program. This bill is a necessary step in providing financial
relief to many of our state's farmers.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017-18: S.139/A.4480: Referred Labor; Referred Labor
2015-16:  S.1853-A Passed Senate; A.6256-A Referred to Labor
2014: S. 7289 Referred to Labor
2009/10 - S.302 Referred to Labor; A.2256 - Referred to Labor

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately