S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4573
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 15, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. KENNEDY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor
 
 AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to decreasing the  length  of
   the  suspension period applicable to certain striking workers who seek
   to obtain unemployment insurance benefits

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivisions  1  and  3  of section 592 of the labor law,
 subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 177 of the laws of 2010 and subdivi-
 sion 3 as amended by chapter 415 of the laws of  1983,  are  amended  to
 read as follows:
   1. Industrial controversy. (a) The accumulation of benefit rights by a
 claimant shall be suspended during a period of [seven consecutive weeks]
 ONE  WEEK  beginning  with  the  day after such claimant lost his or her
 employment because of a strike or other  industrial  controversy  except
 for  lockouts, including concerted activity not authorized or sanctioned
 by the recognized or certified bargaining agent  of  the  claimant,  and
 other  concerted activity conducted in violation of any existing collec-
 tive bargaining agreement, in the establishment in which he or  she  was
 employed, except that benefit rights may be accumulated before the expi-
 ration  of  such  [seven  weeks]  ONE WEEK PERIOD beginning with the day
 after such strike or other industrial controversy was terminated.
   (b) Benefits shall not be suspended under this section if:
   (i) The employer hires a permanent replacement worker for the  employ-
 ee's  position.  A  replacement worker shall be presumed to be permanent
 unless the employer certifies in writing that the employee will be  able
 to return to his or her prior position upon conclusion of the strike, in
 the  event  the strike terminates prior to the conclusion of the employ-
 ee's eligibility for benefit rights under this chapter. In the event the
 employer does not permit  such  return  after  such  certification,  the
 employee  shall  be entitled to recover any benefits lost as a result of
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD09961-01-9

 S. 4573                             2
 
 the [seven] ONE week suspension of  benefits,  and  the  department  may
 impose  a penalty upon the employer of up to seven hundred fifty dollars
 per employee per week of benefits lost. The penalty collected  shall  be
 paid  into  the unemployment insurance control fund established pursuant
 to section five hundred fifty-two-b of this article; or
   (ii) The commissioner determines that the claimant:
   (A) is not employed by an employer that is involved in the  industrial
 controversy that caused his or her unemployment and is not participating
 in the industrial controversy; or
   (B) is not in a bargaining unit involved in the industrial controversy
 that  caused  his  or  her  unemployment and is not participating in the
 industrial controversy.
   3. Terms of suspension. [No] THE waiting period may be served during a
 suspension period.
   The suspension of accumulation of benefit rights shall not  be  termi-
 nated  by subsequent employment of the claimant irrespective of when the
 claim is filed except as provided in subdivision one and  shall  not  be
 confined to a single benefit year.
   A  "week"  as  used in subdivision one of this section means any seven
 consecutive calendar days.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.