N.Y. lawmaker proposes changes to state’s overwhelmed unemployment system

ALBANY — A New York lawmaker wants to expand access to unemployment benefits as the state sees a deluge of out of work applicants due to the coronavirus crisis.
Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-Brooklyn) is proposing a package of legislation that would help furloughed workers and those with reduced hours as well as older folks with health fears as they face financial troubles caused by the pandemic.

Gounardes says the four measures he plans to introduce could provide a safety net for the state’s most vulnerable residents.
“Unemployment insurance is the lifeline for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers right now who have found themselves with reduced hours, furloughed or laid off," he told the Daily News. “These urgently needed funds are a matter of economic survival, our chance to bail out working people who are struggling to get by during the pandemic."
One bill would allow people 65 or older, or at especially high risk of complications from COVID-19, or who live with someone in those categories, to access unemployment insurance if they have been forced to quit their jobs due to health concerns amid the crisis.
Another measure provides eligible businesses with information on the Department of Labor’s shared work program so they can enroll employees to receive unemployment insurance benefits if they’re working reduced hours.

This will allow New Yorkers who have been furloughed or received reduced hours to stay afloat financially while helping small businesses to maintain jobs until after the crisis subsides, Gounardes said.
The push has the support of the state’s top union official.
“This package of bills will not only ease the burden for people currently out of work during this health crisis but just as important, it will remove existing barriers for men and women who for a variety of reasons related to COVID-19 find themselves unable to work," New York State AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento said. "These bills will also help to lay the groundwork for the transition out of this national emergency.”
A staggering 1.2 million people have filed benefit claims within the last five weeks as the coronavirus pandemic has ravaged the state economy, officials said Thursday.

Another measure in the package requires businesses to make sure workers know they are eligible for unemployment if they haven’t been scheduled work hours in seven days. And that they’re entitled to benefits even if they haven’t been laid off. Many restaurant and retail workers are unaware of the law, the senator said.
Also under consideration is a bill that would allow New Yorkers to have access to unemployment even if they take severance or a payout during the course of the pandemic.
“This legislative package closes existing loopholes in the unemployment safety net and will people get what they need to keep their heads above water in the midst of this devastating crisis,” Gounardes said.