Murphy passes bill to protect military spouses

ALBANY, NY - Senator Terrence Murphy, a long-time supporter of the men and women who serve in our armed forces, has sponsored legislation that will provide unemployment benefits to military spouses.

"We rely on the men and women in the military to protect our borders and to preserve our freedom," Senator Murphy said. "Unfortunately, we seem to have forgotten about their husbands and wives, the ones who have to uproot their lives and lose well-paying jobs whenever their spouses get transferred. This legislation will take some of the financial sting out of their having to relocate."

An individual who quits work to accompany a spouse in the military who is transferred to a new location will now be eligible to apply for unemployment compensation benefits. The bill, (S5354) now adds individuals accompanying spouses transferred by the military to the list of non-disqualifying reasons for separation from employment.

The Unemployment Compensation Law includes certain conditions an individual must meet in order to receive unemployment compensation benefits. An application for benefits is valid if the filing individual is unemployed, has separated from employment for a non-disqualifying reason, or was employed for at least 20 weeks within a calendar year and earned less than 27.5% of the statewide average weekly wage during their 20 weeks of employment.

The bill passed unanimously in the Senate 63-0 and was sent to the Assembly for a vote.