S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                   8130
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 25, 2022
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. KENNEDY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor
 
 AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to decreasing the  length  of
   the  suspension period applicable to certain striking workers who seek
   to obtain unemployment insurance benefits
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivisions  1 and 3 of section 592 of the labor law, as
 amended by chapter 20 of the laws  of  2020,  are  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   1. Industrial controversy. (a) The accumulation of benefit rights by a
 claimant  shall  be suspended during a period of [two consecutive weeks]
 ONE WEEK beginning with the day after such  claimant  lost  his  or  her
 employment  because  of  a strike or other industrial controversy except
 for lockouts, including concerted activity not authorized or  sanctioned
 by  the  recognized  or  certified bargaining agent of the claimant, and
 other concerted activity conducted in violation of any existing  collec-
 tive  bargaining  agreement, in the establishment in which he or she was
 employed, except that benefit rights may be accumulated before the expi-
 ration of such [two] ONE week period beginning with the day  after  such
 strike or other industrial controversy was terminated.
   (b) Benefits shall not be suspended under this section if:
   (i)  The employer hires a permanent replacement worker for the employ-
 ee's position. A replacement worker shall be presumed  to  be  permanent
 unless  the employer certifies in writing that the employee will be able
 to return to his or her prior position upon conclusion of the strike, in
 the event the strike terminates prior to the conclusion of  the  employ-
 ee's eligibility for benefit rights under this chapter. In the event the
 employer  does  not  permit  such  return  after such certification, the
 employee shall be entitled to recover any benefits lost as a  result  of
 the [two] ONE week suspension of benefits, and the department may impose
 a  penalty  upon  the  employer of up to seven hundred fifty dollars per
 employee per week of benefits lost. The penalty collected shall be  paid
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD14306-01-2
              

 S. 8130                             2
 
 into  the  unemployment  insurance  control fund established pursuant to
 section five hundred fifty-two-b of this article; or
   (ii) The commissioner determines that the claimant:
   (A)  is not employed by an employer that is involved in the industrial
 controversy that caused his or her unemployment and is not participating
 in the industrial controversy; or
   (B) is not in a bargaining unit involved in the industrial controversy
 that caused his or her unemployment and  is  not  participating  in  the
 industrial controversy.
   3. Terms of suspension. [No] THE waiting period may be served during a
 suspension period.
   The  suspension  of accumulation of benefit rights shall not be termi-
 nated by subsequent employment of the claimant irrespective of when  the
 claim  is  filed  except as provided in subdivision one and shall not be
 confined to a single benefit year.
   A "week" as used in subdivision one of this section  means  any  seven
 consecutive calendar days.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.