Senate Bill S139

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S139

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the labor law, in relation to exempting agricultural
employers from paying for unemployment benefits for federally
ineligible farm labor

 PURPOSE :

To exempt employers of alien agricultural labor from paying for
unemployment coverage on those workers who are federally ineligible
from receiving such benefits.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 - subdivision 2 of section 564 of the labor law is
renumbered subdivision 3 and a new subdivision 2 is added to exclude
from the term "employment" an individual who is an alien admitted to
the United States to perform agricultural labor. This will conform New
York State statute to section 214(c) and 101(a)(15)(H) of the Federal
Immigration and Nationality act if they are excluded from the
definition of employment in section 3306(c) of the Federal
Unemployment tax Act.

 JUSTIFICATION :
              

Currently New York is the only state in the country that requires
agricultural employers to pay unemployment insurance premiums for
federally ineligible farm labor.

This bill would rectify this inequity in the New York State Labor Law
by exempting agricultural employers from paying for unemployment
coverage for H-2A visa farm workers. Currently, New York agricultural
employers who participate in the H-2A visa farm worker program are
required to pay unemployment insurance premiums for these temporary
visa workers.  However, section 3306(c)of the Federal Unemployment Tax
Act excludes these guest workers from collecting unemployment
insurance benefits for their work in the US as they must return to
their home countries.  Thus, New York agricultural employers are
contributing to an unemployment insurance plan that can never be
collected on by the employee.

It is important to note that these guest laborers perform a valuable
service to the agricultural community by performing work which
otherwise would not be performed by the local labor force. Farmers
must take advantage of hiring H-2A visa farm laborers when they are
unable to hire domestic workers for these positions.

If enacted, the bill will have a negligible impact on the unemployment
insurance fund, and no impact on the individuals hired through the
H-2A visa program. This bill is a necessary step in providing
financial relief to many of our state's farmers.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2015-16: S.1853-A Passed Senate; A.6256-A Referred to Labor
2014: S.  7289 Referred to Labor
2009/10 - S.302 Referred to Labor; A.2256- Referred to Labor

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

To be determined

 LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

To be determined

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately