S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
2355--A
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
January 15, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. STIRPE, COLTON, CARROLL, WALLACE, REYES, COOK,
NOLAN, THIELE, ZEBROWSKI, TAYLOR, GOTTFRIED, GRIFFIN, DeSTEFANO,
MONTESANO, RA, GLICK, McDONOUGH, STECK, JACOBSON, CRUZ, AUBRY, SIMON,
BRONSON, PERRY -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. RAMOS -- read once
and referred to the Committee on Labor -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to the calculation of weekly
employment insurance benefits for workers who are partially unem-
ployed; and repealing certain provisions of such law relating thereto
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 522 of the labor law, as amended by chapter 720 of
the laws of 1953, is amended to read as follows:
§ 522. Total unemployment AND PARTIAL UNEMPLOYMENT. "Total unemploy-
ment" means the total lack of any employment [on any day] DURING ANY
WEEK. "PARTIAL EMPLOYMENT" MEANS ANY EMPLOYMENT DURING ANY WEEK THAT IS
LESS THAN FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT SO LONG AS THE COMPENSATION PAID IS LESS
THAN THE CLAIMANT'S WEEKLY BENEFIT RATE PLUS THE CLAIMANT'S PARTIAL
BENEFIT CREDIT. The term "employment" as used in this section means any
employment including that not defined in this title.
§ 2. Section 523 of the labor law is REPEALED and a new section 523 is
added to read as follows:
§ 523. EFFECTIVE WEEK. "EFFECTIVE WEEK" MEANS (A) A WEEK DURING WHICH
A CLAIMANT PERFORMS NO SERVICES FOR WHICH THE CLAIMANT IS PAID COMPEN-
SATION, OR (B) A WEEK DURING WHICH A CLAIMANT PERFORMS SERVICES ON A
PART-TIME BASIS FOR WHICH THE CLAIMANT IS PAID COMPENSATION THAT IS LESS
THAN THE CLAIMANT'S WEEKLY BENEFIT RATE PLUS HIS OR HER PARTIAL BENEFIT
CREDIT.
§ 3. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 525 to read as
follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05015-03-1
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§ 525. PARTIAL BENEFIT CREDIT. "PARTIAL BENEFIT CREDIT" MEANS THAT
PART OF THE COMPENSATION, IF ANY, PAID TO A CLAIMANT WITH RESPECT TO A
WEEK FOR WHICH BENEFITS ARE CLAIMED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THIS LAW
WHICH IS NOT IN EXCESS OF FIFTY PER CENTUM OF THE INDIVIDUAL'S WEEKLY
BENEFIT RATE, OR ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS, WHICHEVER IS THE GREATER. SUCH
PARTIAL BENEFIT CREDIT, IF NOT A MULTIPLE OF ONE DOLLAR, SHALL BE
COMPUTED TO THE NEXT HIGHER MULTIPLE OF ONE DOLLAR.
§ 4. Subdivision 4 of section 527 of the labor law, as amended by
chapter 832 of the laws of 1968 and as renumbered by chapter 381 of the
laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows:
4. General condition. A valid original claim may be filed only in a
week [in which the claimant has at least one effective day of unemploy-
ment] THAT QUALIFIES AS AN EFFECTIVE WEEK OF UNEMPLOYMENT FOR THE CLAIM-
ANT.
§ 5. Subparagraph 2 of paragraph (e) of subdivision 1 of section 581
of the labor law, as amended by chapter 282 of the laws of 2002 and
clause (v) as added by chapter 106 of the laws of 2007, is amended to
read as follows:
(2) Benefits payable to any claimant with respect to the claimant's
then current benefit year shall be charged, when paid, to the account of
the last employer prior to the filing of a valid original claim in an
amount equal to seven times the claimant's benefit rate. Thereafter,
such charges shall be made to the account of each employer in the base
period used to establish the valid original claim in the same proportion
that the remuneration paid by each employer to the claimant during that
base period bears to the remuneration paid by all employers to the
claimant during that base period except as provided below:
(i) In those instances where the claimant may not utilize wages paid
to establish entitlement based upon subdivision ten of section five
hundred ninety of this article and an educational institution is the
claimant's last employer prior to the filing of the claim for benefits,
or the claimant performed services in such educational institution in
such capacity while employed by an educational service agency which is
the claimant's last employer prior to the filing of the claim for bene-
fits, such employer shall not be liable for benefit charges for the
first [twenty-eight effective days] SEVEN EFFECTIVE WEEKS of benefits
paid as otherwise provided by this section. Under such circumstances,
benefits paid shall be charged to the general account. In addition,
wages paid during the base period by such educational institutions, or
for services in such educational institutions for claimants employed by
an educational service agency shall not be considered base period wages
during periods that such wages may not be used to gain entitlement to
benefits pursuant to subdivision ten of section five hundred ninety of
this article.
(ii) In those instances where the claimant may not utilize wages paid
to establish entitlement based upon subdivision eleven of section five
hundred ninety of this article and an educational institution is the
claimant's last employer prior to the filing of the claim for benefits,
or the claimant performed services in such educational institution in
such capacity while employed by an educational service agency which is
the claimant's last employer prior to the filing of the claim for bene-
fits, such employer shall not be liable for benefit charges for the
first [twenty-eight effective days] SEVEN EFFECTIVE WEEKS of benefits
paid as otherwise provided by this section. Under such circumstances,
benefits paid will be charged to the general account. In addition, wages
paid during the base period by such educational institutions, or for
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services in such educational institutions for claimants employed by an
educational service agency shall not be considered base period wages
during periods that such wages may not be used to gain entitlement to
benefits pursuant to subdivision eleven of section five hundred ninety
of this article. However, in those instances where a claimant was not
afforded an opportunity to perform services for the educational institu-
tion for the next academic year or term after reasonable assurance was
provided, such employer shall be liable for benefit charges as provided
for in this paragraph for any retroactive payments made to the claimant.
(iii) In those instances where the federal government is the claim-
ant's last employer prior to the filing of the claim for benefits and
such employer is not a base-period employer, payments equaling the first
[twenty-eight effective days] SEVEN EFFECTIVE WEEKS of benefits as
otherwise prescribed by this section shall be charged to the general
account. In those instances where the federal government is the claim-
ant's last employer prior to the filing of the claim for benefits and a
base-period employer, such employer shall be liable for charges for all
benefits paid on such claim in the same proportion that the remuneration
paid by such employer during the base period bears to the remuneration
paid by all employers during the base period. In addition, benefit
payment charges for the first [twenty-eight effective days] SEVEN EFFEC-
TIVE WEEKS of benefits other than those chargeable to the federal
government as prescribed above shall be made to the general account.
(iv) In those instances where a combined wage claim is filed pursuant
to interstate reciprocal agreements and the claimant's last employer
prior to the filing of the claim is an out-of-state employer and such
employer is not a base-period employer, benefit payments equaling the
first [twenty-eight effective days] SEVEN EFFECTIVE WEEKS of benefits as
otherwise prescribed by this section shall be charged to the general
account. In those instances where the out-of-state employer is the last
employer prior to the filing of the claim for benefits and a base-period
employer such employer shall be liable for charges for all benefits paid
on such claim in the same proportion that the remuneration paid by such
employer during the base period bears to the remuneration paid by all
employers during the base period. In addition, benefit payment charges
for the [twenty-eight effective days] SEVEN EFFECTIVE WEEKS of benefits
other than those chargeable to the out-of-state employer as prescribed
above shall be made to the general account.
(v) In those instances where the last employer prior to the filing of
a valid original claim has paid total remuneration to the claimant
during the period from the start of the base period used to establish
the benefit claim until the date of the claimant's filing of the valid
original claim in an amount less than or equal to six times the claim-
ant's benefit rate and the last employer has substantiated such amount
to the satisfaction of the commissioner within ten days of the commis-
sioner's original notice of potential charges to such last employer's
account, benefits shall be charged as follows: benefits payable to the
claimant with respect to the claimant's then current benefit year shall
be charged, when paid, to the account of such last employer prior to the
filing of a valid original claim in an amount equal to the lowest whole
number (one, two, three, four, five, or six) times the claimant's bene-
fit rate where the product of such lowest whole number times the claim-
ant's benefit rate is equal to or greater than such total remuneration
paid by such last employer to the claimant. Thereafter, such charges
shall be made to the account of each employer in the base period used to
establish the valid original claim in the same proportion that the
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remuneration paid by each employer to the claimant during that base
period bears to the remuneration paid by all employers to the claimant
during that base period. Notice of such recalculation of potential
charges shall be given to the last employer and each employer of the
claimant in the base period used to establish the valid original claim.
§ 6. Subdivision 1 of section 590 of the labor law, as amended by
chapter 645 of the laws of 1951, is amended to read as follows:
1. Entitlement to benefits. A claimant shall be entitled to accumulate
effective [days] WEEKS for the purpose of benefit rights only if he has
complied with the provisions of this article regarding the filing of his
claim, including the filing of a valid original claim, registered as
totally OR PARTIALLY unemployed, reported his subsequent employment and
unemployment, and reported for work or otherwise given notice of the
continuance of his unemployment.
§ 7. Subdivision 3 of section 590 of the labor law, as amended by
chapter 645 of the laws of 1951, is amended to read as follows:
3. Compensable periods. Benefits shall be paid for each [accumulation
of] effective [days within a] week.
§ 8. Subdivision 4 of section 590 of the labor law, as amended by
chapter 457 of the laws of 1987, is amended to read as follows:
4. Duration. Benefits shall not be paid [for more than one hundred and
four effective days] IN AN AMOUNT GREATER THAN TWENTY-SIX TIMES THE
CLAIMANT'S WEEKLY BENEFIT RATE in any benefit year, except as provided
in section six hundred one and subdivision two of section five hundred
ninety-nine of this chapter.
§ 9. Subdivision 5 of section 590 of the labor law is amended by
adding two new paragraphs (c) and (d) to read as follows:
(C) BENEFIT FOR PARTIAL UNEMPLOYMENT. EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH
(D) OF THIS SUBDIVISION, ANY CLAIMANT WHO IS PARTIALLY UNEMPLOYED WITH
RESPECT TO ANY EFFECTIVE WEEK SHALL BE PAID, WITH RESPECT TO SUCH EFFEC-
TIVE WEEK, A BENEFIT EQUAL TO HIS WEEKLY BENEFIT RATE LESS THE TOTAL OF
THE REMUNERATION, IF ANY, PAID OR PAYABLE TO HIM WITH RESPECT TO SUCH
WEEK FOR SERVICES PERFORMED WHICH IS IN EXCESS OF HIS PARTIAL BENEFIT
CREDIT.
(D) BENEFIT FOR PARTIAL UNEMPLOYMENT FOR CERTAIN CLAIMANTS WORKING ONE
DAY IN A WEEK. ANY CLAIMANT WHO IS PARTIALLY UNEMPLOYED WITH RESPECT TO
ANY EFFECTIVE WEEK BUT WHOSE EMPLOYMENT IS LIMITED TO ONE DAY DURING
THAT EFFECTIVE WEEK AND WHOSE REMUNERATION PAID OR PAYABLE TO HIM WITH
RESPECT TO SUCH WEEK FOR SERVICES PERFORMED IS LESS THAN HIS WEEKLY
BENEFIT RATE SHALL BE PAID, WITH RESPECT TO SUCH EFFECTIVE WEEK, A BENE-
FIT EQUAL TO THREE-QUARTERS OF HIS WEEKLY BENEFIT RATE, OR IF HIGHER,
THE BENEFIT CALCULATED PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (C) OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
§ 10. Subdivision 6 of section 590 of the labor law, as added by chap-
ter 720 of the laws of 1953 and as renumbered by chapter 675 of the laws
of 1977, is amended to read as follows:
6. Notification requirement. No effective [day] WEEK shall be counted
for any purposes except effective [days] WEEKS as to which notification
has been given in a manner prescribed by the commissioner.
§ 11. Subdivision 7 of section 590 of the labor law, as amended by
chapter 415 of the laws of 1983, is amended to read as follows:
7. Waiting period. A claimant shall not be entitled to accumulate
effective [days] WEEKS for the purpose of benefit payments until he has
accumulated a waiting period of [four effective days either wholly with-
in the week in which he established his valid original claim or partly
within such week and partly within his benefit year initiated by such
claim] ONE EFFECTIVE WEEK.
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§ 12. Subdivision 1 of section 591 of the labor law, as amended by
chapter 413 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows:
1. Unemployment. Benefits, except as provided in section five hundred
ninety-one-a of this title, shall be paid only to a claimant who is
totally unemployed OR PARTIALLY UNEMPLOYED and who is unable to engage
in his usual employment or in any other for which he is reasonably
fitted by training and experience. A claimant who is receiving benefits
under this article shall not be denied such benefits pursuant to this
subdivision or to subdivision two of this section because of such claim-
ant's service on a grand or petit jury of any state or of the United
States.
§ 13. Subdivision 1 of section 591 of the labor law, as amended by
chapter 446 of the laws of 1981, is amended to read as follows:
1. Unemployment. Benefits shall be paid only to a claimant who is
totally unemployed OR PARTIALLY UNEMPLOYED and who is unable to engage
in his usual employment or in any other for which he is reasonably
fitted by training and experience. A claimant who is receiving benefits
under this article shall not be denied such benefits pursuant to this
subdivision or to subdivision two of this section because of such claim-
ant's service on a grand or petit jury of any state or of the United
States.
§ 14. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of section 591 of the labor law
is REPEALED and a new paragraph (a) is added to read as follows:
(A) COMPENSATION PAID TO A CLAIMANT FOR ANY DAY DURING A PAID VACATION
PERIOD, OR FOR A PAID HOLIDAY, SHALL BE CONSIDERED COMPENSATION FROM
EMPLOYMENT.
§ 15. Subparagraph (i) of paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section
591-a of the labor law, as amended by section 14 of part O of chapter 57
of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
(i) requirements relating to total unemployment AND PARTIAL UNEMPLOY-
MENT, as defined in section five hundred twenty-two of this article,
availability for work and search for work, as set forth in subdivision
two of section five hundred ninety-one of this title and refusal to
accept work, as set forth in subdivision two of section five hundred
ninety-three of this title, are not applicable to such individuals;
§ 16. Subdivision 2 of section 592 of the labor law, as amended by
chapter 415 of the laws of 1983, is amended to read as follows:
2. Concurrent payments prohibited. No [days] WEEKS of total unemploy-
ment OR PARTIAL UNEMPLOYMENT shall be deemed to occur in any week with
respect to which [or a part of which] a claimant has received or is
seeking unemployment benefits under an unemployment compensation law of
any other state or of the United States, provided that this provision
shall not apply if the appropriate agency of such other state or of the
United States finally determines that he is not entitled to such unem-
ployment benefits.
§ 17. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 593 of the labor law,
as amended by section 15 of part O of chapter 57 of the laws of 2013, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) No [days] WEEKS of total unemployment OR PARTIAL UNEMPLOYMENT
shall be deemed to occur after a claimant's voluntary separation without
good cause from employment until he or she has subsequently worked in
employment and earned remuneration at least equal to ten times his or
her weekly benefit rate. In addition to other circumstances that may be
found to constitute good cause, including a compelling family reason as
set forth in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, voluntary separation
from employment shall not in itself disqualify a claimant if circum-
A. 2355--A 6
stances have developed in the course of such employment that would have
justified the claimant in refusing such employment in the first instance
under the terms of subdivision two of this section or if the claimant,
pursuant to an option provided under a collective bargaining agreement
or written employer plan which permits waiver of his or her right to
retain the employment when there is a temporary layoff because of lack
of work, has elected to be separated for a temporary period and the
employer has consented thereto.
§ 18. The opening paragraph of subdivision 2 of section 593 of the
labor law, as amended by section 15 of part O of chapter 57 of the laws
of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
No [days] WEEKS of total unemployment OR PARTIAL UNEMPLOYMENT shall be
deemed to occur beginning with the [day on] WEEK IN which a claimant,
without good cause, refuses to accept an offer of employment for which
he or she is reasonably fitted by training and experience, including
employment not subject to this article, until he or she has subsequently
worked in employment and earned remuneration at least equal to ten times
his or her weekly benefit rate. Except that claimants who are not
subject to a recall date or who do not obtain employment through a union
hiring hall and who are still unemployed after receiving ten weeks of
benefits shall be required to accept any employment proffered that such
claimants are capable of performing, provided that such employment would
result in a wage not less than eighty percent of such claimant's high
calendar quarter wages received in the base period and not substantially
less than the prevailing wage for similar work in the locality as
provided for in paragraph (d) of this subdivision. No refusal to accept
employment shall be deemed without good cause nor shall it disqualify
any claimant otherwise eligible to receive benefits if:
§ 19. Subdivision 3 of section 593 of the labor law, as amended by
section 15 of part O of chapter 57 of the laws of 2013, is amended to
read as follows:
3. Misconduct. No [days] WEEKS of total unemployment OR PARTIAL UNEM-
PLOYMENT shall be deemed to occur after a claimant lost employment
through misconduct in connection with his or her employment until he or
she has subsequently worked in employment and earned remuneration at
least equal to ten times his or her weekly benefit rate.
§ 20. Subdivision 4 of section 593 of the labor law, as amended by
chapter 589 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as follows:
4. Criminal acts. No [days] WEEKS of total unemployment OR PARTIAL
UNEMPLOYMENT shall be deemed to occur during a period of twelve months
after a claimant loses employment as a result of an act constituting a
felony in connection with such employment, provided the claimant is duly
convicted thereof or has signed a statement admitting that he or she has
committed such an act. Determinations regarding a benefit claim may be
reviewed at any time. Any benefits paid to a claimant prior to a deter-
mination that the claimant has lost employment as a result of such act
shall not be considered to have been accepted by the claimant in good
faith. In addition, remuneration paid to the claimant by the affected
employer prior to the claimant's loss of employment due to such criminal
act may not be utilized for the purpose of establishing entitlement to a
subsequent, valid original claim. The provisions of this subdivision
shall apply even if the employment lost as a result of such act is not
the claimant's last employment prior to the filing of his or her claim.
§ 21. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 594 of the labor law, as amended
by section 16 of part O of chapter 57 of the laws of 2013, are amended
to read as follows:
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(1) A claimant who has wilfully made a false statement or represen-
tation to obtain any benefit under the provisions of this article shall
forfeit benefits for at least the first [four] ONE but not more than the
first [eighty] TWENTY effective [days] WEEKS following discovery of such
offense for which he or she otherwise would have been entitled to
receive benefits. Such penalty shall apply only once with respect to
each such offense.
(2) For the purpose of subdivision four of section five hundred ninety
of this article, the claimant shall be deemed to have received benefits
for such forfeited effective [days] WEEKS.
§ 22. Subdivision 1 of section 596 of the labor law, as amended by
chapter 204 of the laws of 1982, is amended to read as follows:
1. Claim filing and certification to unemployment. A claimant shall
file a claim for benefits at the local state employment office serving
the area in which he was last employed or in which he resides within
such time and in such manner as the commissioner shall prescribe. He
shall disclose whether he owes child support obligations, as hereafter
defined. If a claimant making such disclosure is eligible for benefits,
the commissioner shall notify the state or local child support enforce-
ment agency, as hereafter defined, that the claimant is eligible.
A claimant shall correctly report any [days] WEEKS of employment and
any compensation he received for such employment, including employments
not subject to this article, and the [days on] WEEKS DURING which he was
totally unemployed OR PARTIALLY UNEMPLOYED and shall make such reports
in accordance with such regulations as the commissioner shall prescribe.
§ 23. Subdivision 4 of section 596 of the labor law, as added by chap-
ter 705 of the laws of 1944, as renumbered by section 148-a of part B of
chapter 436 of the laws of 1997 and such section as renumbered by chap-
ter 663 of the laws of 1946, is amended to read as follows:
4. Registration and reporting for work. A claimant shall register as
totally unemployed OR PARTIALLY UNEMPLOYED at a local state employment
office serving the area in which he was last employed or in which he
resides in accordance with such regulations as the commissioner shall
prescribe. After so registering, such claimant shall report for work at
the same local state employment office or otherwise give notice of the
continuance of his unemployment as often and in such manner as the
commissioner shall prescribe.
§ 24. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 599 of the labor law,
as amended by chapter 593 of the laws of 1991, is amended to read as
follows:
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a claimant
attending an approved training course or program under this section may
receive additional benefits of up to [one hundred four] TWENTY-SIX
effective [days] WEEKS following exhaustion of regular and, if in
effect, any other extended benefits, provided that entitlement to a new
benefit claim cannot be established. Certification of continued satis-
factory participation and progress in such training course or program
must be submitted to the commissioner prior to the payment of any such
benefits. The duration of such additional benefits shall in no case
exceed twice the number of effective [days] WEEKS of regular benefits to
which the claimant is entitled at the time the claimant is accepted in,
or demonstrates application for appropriate training.
§ 25. The opening paragraph and paragraph (e) of subdivision 2 of
section 601 of the labor law, as amended by chapter 35 of the laws of
2009, are amended to read as follows:
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Extended benefits shall be payable to a claimant for effective [days]
WEEKS occurring [in any week] within an eligibility period, provided the
claimant
(e) is not claiming benefits pursuant to an interstate claim filed
under the interstate benefit payment plan in a state where an extended
benefit period is not in effect, except that this condition shall not
apply with respect to the first [eight] TWO effective [days] WEEKS for
which extended benefits shall otherwise be payable pursuant to an inter-
state claim filed under the interstate benefit payment plan; and
§ 26. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subdivision 3 of section 601 of the
labor law, as amended by chapter 35 of the laws of 2009, are amended to
read as follows:
(b) for not more than [fifty-two] THIRTEEN effective [days] WEEKS with
respect to his or her applicable benefit year, with a total maximum
amount equal to fifty percentum of the total maximum amount of regular
benefits payable in such benefit year, and
(c) if a claimant's benefit year ends within an extended benefit peri-
od, the remaining balance of extended benefits to which he or she would
be entitled, if any, shall be reduced by the number of effective [days]
WEEKS for which he or she was entitled to receive trade readjustment
allowances under the federal trade act of nineteen hundred seventy-four
during such benefit year, and
§ 27. Subdivision 4 of section 601 of the labor law, as amended by
chapter 35 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
4. Charging of extended benefits. The provisions of paragraph (e) of
subdivision one of section five hundred eighty-one of this article shall
apply to benefits paid pursuant to the provisions of this section, and
if they were paid for effective [days occurring in] weeks following the
end of a benefit year, they shall be deemed paid with respect to that
benefit year. However, except for governmental entities as defined in
section five hundred sixty-five and Indian tribes as defined in section
five hundred sixty-six of this article, only one-half of the amount of
such benefits shall be debited to the employers' account; the remainder
thereof shall be debited to the general account, and such account shall
be credited with the amount of payments received in the fund pursuant to
the provisions of the federal-state extended unemployment compensation
act. Notwithstanding the foregoing, where the state has entered an
extended benefit period triggered pursuant to subparagraph one of para-
graph (a) of subdivision one of this section for which federal law
provides for one hundred percent federal sharing of the costs of bene-
fits, all charges shall be debited to the general account and such
account shall be credited with the amount of payments received in the
fund pursuant to the provisions of the federal-state extended unemploy-
ment compensation act or other federal law providing for one hundred
percent federal sharing for the cost of such benefits.
§ 28. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 5 of section 601 of the labor law,
as amended by chapter 35 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as
follows:
(b) No [days] WEEKS of total unemployment OR PARTIAL UNEMPLOYMENT
shall be deemed to occur [in any week] within an eligibility period
during which a claimant fails to accept any offer of suitable work or
fails to apply for suitable work to which he or she was referred by the
commissioner, who shall make such referral if such work is available, or
during which he or she fails to engage actively in seeking work by
making a systematic and sustained effort to obtain work and providing
tangible evidence of such effort, and until he or she has worked in
A. 2355--A 9
employment during at least four subsequent weeks and earned remuneration
of at least four times his or her benefit rate.
§ 29. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 5 of section 601 of the labor law,
as amended by chapter 35 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as
follows:
(e) No [days] WEEKS of total unemployment OR PARTIAL UNEMPLOYMENT
shall be deemed to occur [in any week] within an eligibility period
under section five hundred ninety-three of this article, until he or she
has subsequently worked in employment in accordance with the require-
ments set forth in section five hundred ninety-three of this article.
§ 30. Section 603 of the labor law, as amended by section 21 of part O
of chapter 57 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
§ 603. Definitions. For purposes of this title: "Total unemployment"
shall mean the total lack of any employment [on any day] DURING ANY WEEK
AND "PARTIAL UNEMPLOYMENT" SHALL MEAN ANY EMPLOYMENT DURING ANY WEEK
THAT IS LESS THAN FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT SO LONG AS THE COMPENSATION PAID
IS LESS THAN THE CLAIMANT'S WEEKLY BENEFIT RATE PLUS THE CLAIMANT'S
PARTIAL BENEFIT CREDIT, other than with an employer applying for a
shared work program. "Work force" shall mean the total work force, a
clearly identifiable unit or units thereof, or a particular shift or
shifts. The work force subject to reduction shall consist of no less
than two employees.
§ 31. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
have become a law, provided that the amendments to subdivision 1 of
section 591 of the labor law made by section twelve of this act shall be
subject to the expiration and reversion of such subdivision pursuant to
section 10 of chapter 413 of the laws of 2003, as amended, when upon
such date the provisions of section thirteen of this act shall take
effect; provided further that the amendments to section 591-a of the
labor law made by section fifteen of this act shall not affect the
repeal of such section and shall be deemed repealed therewith.