NY State Senate Bill 2021-S6771

Senate Bill S6771

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Authorizes certain employees to receive a partial or reduced unemployment benefit in addition to wages

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Labor Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 05, 2022	referred to labor
May 14, 2021	referred to labor

2021-S6771 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Labor
Law Section:: Labor

2021-S6771 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Authorizes certain employees who return to work at a position or job which pays less than the amount such employee received from unemployment insurance to receive a partial or reduced unemployment benefit in addition to such wages to equal the benefit amount such employee received prior to returning to work.

2021-S6771 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S6771

SPONSOR: GRIFFO
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to authorize certain employees to receive a partial or reduced
unemployment benefit in addition to wages

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this bill is to encourage individuals collecting unem-
ployment during the pandemic, who are unwilling to return to their work
for a variety of reasons, to go back to work. They would receive the
same rate of pay they are currently receiving on unemployment by having
the state subsidize the difference between the pay they receive from
their employer and the amount they would have received were they to
continue collecting unemployment.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 outlines the manner in which a person will receive an incen-

tive for going back to work through a combination of pay received from
their employer and a state subsidy which would bring the employees rate
of pay in line with what they were receiving while unemployment. This
would only be active until the state declares an official end to the
state disaster emergency declaration for COVID-19.

Section 2 is the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic unemployed persons have collected more
money than they were earning at their jobs. This enhanced benefit has
created the disincentive for people to return to work despite increasing
vaccination rates and widespread safety protocols being utilized.
Employers have found the lack of employees willing to return to work
frustrating, and the success of their business has suffered because of
it. Similarly, New York's overall economic recovery has been sluggish
compared to other states throughout the country due to this.

This bill would provide an incentive for employees to return to work by
having the state subsidize the difference between their pay for work and
the amount they were earning while unemployed. Were an employee to
reject an offer of employment, they would be subject to the same penal-
ties that exist when refusing employment which is a loss of their unem-
ployment benefits in total.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

TBD

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2021-S6771 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6771
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 14, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  GRIFFO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor
 
 AN ACT to authorize certain employees to receive a  partial  or  reduced
   unemployment benefit in addition to wages
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. a. Notwithstanding any provision of law  to  the  contrary,
 and for the purpose of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, any employee
 who  receives payments pursuant to article 18 of the labor law for unem-
 ployment claims made on or after March 9, 2020 through the  duration  of
 the  state  disaster emergency declared by executive order number 202 of
 2020 and any further amendments or modifications thereto, who accepts an
 offer of employment and returns to work in a position or job title  that
 pays  less  than  the existing unemployment insurance benefit, including
 supplemental federal unemployment insurance payments, shall be  eligible
 to collect a partial or reduced unemployment benefit that, when added to
 the  salary  or  wages paid to the employee for the position or job such
 employee accepted and returned to  work  to  perform,  equates  to  such
 amount  that  will  make  such  employee's  combined salary or wages and
 partial unemployment benefit equal to the benefit such employee received
 from unemployment insurance before returning to work.
   b. For the purposes of this section, the  supplemental  federal  unem-
 ployment  insurance  benefit  referenced  herein shall be defined as all
 payments received by the claimant for unemployment insurance that are in
 addition to the standard benefit provided pursuant to article 18 of  the
 labor law, including but not limited to the Pandemic Unemployment Insur-
 ance  Act,  Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, Pandemic Unem-
 ployment Compensation and any other extended, supplemental or  emergency
 unemployment benefit as provided by federal law.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11413-01-1

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