S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  4402--A
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 8, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens. KENNEDY, BRESLIN, BRISPORT, BROUK, CLEARE, FERNAN-
   DEZ, GONZALEZ, HARCKHAM,  HINCHEY,  HOYLMAN-SIGAL,  JACKSON,  MATTERA,
   MURRAY,  MYRIE,  PALUMBO,  RAMOS, SALAZAR, SCARCELLA-SPANTON, SKOUFIS,
   STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and  when  printed  to  be
   committed to the Committee on Labor -- recommitted to the Committee on
   Labor   in  accordance  with  Senate  Rule  6,  sec.  8  --  committee
   discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
   to said committee
 
 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, as
 amended by chapter 20 of the laws  of  2020,  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 [two consecutive weeks]
 ONE WEEK beginning with the day after such claimant lost  [his  or  her]
 THEIR  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 claim-
 ant, and other concerted activity conducted in violation of any existing
 collective  bargaining  agreement,  in the establishment in which [he or
 she] SUCH CLAIMANT was employed, except that benefit rights may be accu-
 mulated before the expiration of such [two] 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
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01295-02-4
              

 S. 4402--A                          2
 
 unless the employer certifies in writing that the employee will be  able
 to return to [his or her] SUCH EMPLOYEE'S prior position upon conclusion
 of  the  strike, in the event the strike terminates prior to the conclu-
 sion  of  the employee's eligibility for benefit rights under this chap-
 ter. 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 the [two] 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 arti-
 cle; 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] SUCH CLAIMANT'S 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] SUCH CLAIMANT'S unemployment and is not partic-
 ipating in the industrial controversy.
   3.  Terms  of suspension. [No] THE waiting period [may] AND SUSPENSION
 PERIOD SHALL be served [during a suspension period] CONCURRENTLY.
   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 OF THIS SECTION 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.