S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
4921--A
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
February 10, 2009
___________
Introduced by M. of A. JOHN, DenDEKKER, LANCMAN, ABBATE, JAFFEE, PHEF-
FER, COLTON, SCHROEDER, ROBINSON, ROSENTHAL, DINOWITZ, ESPAILLAT,
MILLMAN, CLARK, NOLAN, MARKEY, MAISEL, RAMOS, LIFTON, LAVINE, CARROZ-
ZA, TOWNS, ALESSI, BENJAMIN, GLICK, GABRYSZAK, STIRPE, REILLY, SPANO,
KAVANAGH, JEFFRIES, CASTRO, PERRY, BOYLAND, FIELDS, O'DONNELL, MENG,
SCARBOROUGH, HOOPER, WRIGHT, ORTIZ, MAYERSOHN, CAMARA, GOTTFRIED --
Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. AUBRY, BARRA, BENEDETTO, BRENNAN,
BRODSKY, CAHILL, CHRISTENSEN, CONTE, COOK, DelMONTE, GUNTHER, HEASTIE,
HYER-SPENCER, JACOBS, LATIMER, V. LOPEZ, LUPARDO, McENENY, PAULIN,
PEOPLES-STOKES, PRETLOW, RABBITT, RUSSELL, SCHIMEL, SKARTADOS, SWEE-
NEY, WEINSTEIN, WEISENBERG -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Labor -- recommitted to the Committee on Labor in accordance with
Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to the unemployment insurance
law, increasing the maximum benefit rate for unemployment insurance
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 518 of the labor
law, as amended by chapter 589 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read
as follows:
(a) "Wages" means all remuneration paid, except that such term does
not include remuneration paid to an employee by an employer after [eight
thousand five hundred] NINE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED FIFTY dollars have
been paid to such employee by such employer with respect to employment
during any calendar year PRECEDING THE FIRST DAY OF JANUARY, TWO THOU-
SAND ELEVEN, NOR TO INCLUDE REMUNERATION PAID TO AN EMPLOYEE BY AN
EMPLOYER AFTER ELEVEN THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS HAVE BEEN PAID TO
SUCH EMPLOYEE BY SUCH EMPLOYER WITH RESPECT TO EMPLOYMENT DURING ANY
CALENDAR YEAR PRECEDING THE FIRST DAY OF JANUARY, TWO THOUSAND TWELVE,
NOR TO INCLUDE REMUNERATION PAID TO AN EMPLOYEE BY AN EMPLOYER AFTER
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07363-04-0
A. 4921--A 2
THIRTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS HAVE BEEN PAID TO SUCH EMPLOYEE BY SUCH
EMPLOYER WITH RESPECT TO EMPLOYMENT DURING ANY CALENDAR YEAR PRECEDING
THE FIRST DAY OF JANUARY, TWO THOUSAND THIRTEEN. IN EACH SUCCEEDING
CALENDAR YEAR, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL CALCULATE THE BASE AMOUNT OF REMUN-
ERATION NECESSARY FROM WHICH TO PRODUCE SUFFICIENT PREMIUM TO PROVIDE
FOR THE ANNUAL INCREASES IN MAXIMUM WEEKLY BENEFIT PROVIDED FOR IN THIS
ARTICLE, AND OTHER FUNDING FOR THE UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE TRUST FUND
PURSUANT TO SECTION FIVE HUNDRED FIFTY OF THIS ARTICLE, AS MAY BE NECES-
SARY. The term "employment" includes for the purposes of this subdivi-
sion services constituting employment under any unemployment compen-
sation law of another state or the United States.
S 2. Subdivision 5 of section 590 of the labor law, as amended by
chapter 413 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows:
5. Benefit rate. A claimant's weekly benefit amount shall be one twen-
ty-sixth of the remuneration paid during the highest calendar quarter of
the base period by employers, liable for contributions or payments in
lieu of contributions under this article. However, for claimants whose
high calendar quarter remuneration during the base period is three thou-
sand five hundred seventy-five dollars or less, the benefit amount shall
be one twenty-fifth of the remuneration paid during the highest calendar
quarter of the base period by employers liable for contributions or
payments in lieu of contributions under this article. Any claimant
whose high calendar quarter remuneration during the base period is more
than three thousand five hundred seventy-five dollars shall not have a
weekly benefit amount less than one hundred forty-three dollars. The
weekly benefit amount, so computed, that is not a multiple of one dollar
shall be [lowered to] the next multiple of one dollar. On the first
Monday of September, nineteen hundred ninety-eight the weekly benefit
amount shall not exceed three hundred sixty-five dollars nor be less
than forty dollars, until the first Monday of September, two thousand,
at which time the maximum benefit payable pursuant to this subdivision
shall equal one-half of the state average weekly wage for covered
employment as calculated by the department no sooner than July first,
two thousand and no later than August first, two thousand, rounded
[down] to the [lowest] NEXT dollar. ON THE FIRST MONDAY OF JULY, TWO
THOUSAND TEN, THE WEEKLY BENEFIT SHALL NOT EXCEED FOUR HUNDRED SEVENTY-
FIVE DOLLARS NOR LESS THAN SEVENTY-FIVE DOLLARS, UNTIL THE FIRST MONDAY
OF JULY, TWO THOUSAND ELEVEN AT WHICH TIME THE WEEKLY BENEFIT SHALL NOT
EXCEED FIVE HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS, UNTIL THE FIRST MONDAY OF JULY,
TWO THOUSAND TWELVE AT WHICH TIME THE MAXIMUM WEEKLY BENEFIT SHALL NOT
EXCEED FIVE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE DOLLARS UNTIL THE FIRST MONDAY OF JULY,
TWO THOUSAND THIRTEEN, AT WHICH TIME THE MAXIMUM WEEKLY BENEFIT SHALL
NOT EXCEED SIX HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS UNTIL THE FIRST MONDAY OF
JULY, TWO THOUSAND FOURTEEN AT WHICH TIME THE MAXIMUM BENEFIT PURSUANT
TO THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL EQUAL ONE-HALF OF THE STATE AVERAGE WEEKLY
WAGE AS CALCULATED BY THE DEPARTMENT NO SOONER THAN JULY FIRST, TWO
THOUSAND FOURTEEN AND NOT LATER THAN AUGUST FIRST, TWO THOUSAND FOURTEEN
AND ON JULY FIRST OF EACH SUCCEEDING YEAR THE MAXIMUM BENEFIT SHALL
EQUAL ONE-HALF OF THE STATE AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGE AS CALCULATED BY THE
DEPARTMENT ANNUALLY PURSUANT TO THE MANNER DESCRIBED IN THIS SUBDIVI-
SION.
S 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all
claims filed on and after the effective date of this act; provided,
however, that section one of this act shall take effect on the thirtieth
day after it shall have become a law.