BILL NUMBER: S5823A

SPONSOR: METZGER
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the labor law, in relation to exempt-
ing agricultural employers from paying for unemployment benefits for
federally ineligible farm labor

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this legislation is to exempt employers of H-2A agricul-
tural workers from paying into unemployment insurance fund for employees
who are ineligible from receiving such benefits.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Subdivision 2 of section 564,of the Labor Law is renumbered
to subdivision 3, and a new subdivision 2 is added to exempt employers
of federal H2A agricultural employees from paying into the unemployment
insurance fund.

Section'2: This section provides for the effective date of this legis-
              

lation.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Currently, New York is the only state in the country that requires agri-
cultural employers to pay unemployment insurance premiums for federal
H-2A agricultural employees. 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
temporary visa workers. However, section 3306(c) of the Federal Unem-
ployment Tax Act excludes these guest workers from collecting unemploy-
ment insurance benefits for their work in the United States, as they
will be returning 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 workers perform a valuable
service to the agricultural community by performing work which otherwise
would not be performed by the local labor force. Farmers often hire H-2A
Visa farm workers when the local labor force is unequipped to provide
agricultural workers for these important positions.  If enacted, the
bill will have a negligible impact on the unemployment insurance fund,
as no workers have been allowed to collect unemployment benefits, 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:

New Bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

This legislation would have minimal fiscal implication to the State
unemployment fund as no H-2A workers ever collect from the fund.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This legislation shall take effect immediately.