NY State Senate Bill S4402

Current Bill Status - Passed Senate

Introduced
In Committee
On Floor Calendar
- Passed Senate
- Passed Assembly
Delivered to Governor
Signed/Vetoed by Governor

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Actions

view actions (7)

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jun 01, 2023	referred to labor delivered to assembly passed senate
May 30, 2023	advanced to third reading
May 24, 2023	2nd report cal.
May 23, 2023	1st report cal.1337
Feb 08, 2023	referred to labor

Votes

view votes

Jun 1, 2023 - floor Vote

S4402

floor

Aye

Nay

Absent

Excused

Abstained

May 23, 2023 - Labor committee Vote

S4402

committee

Aye

Nay

Aye with Reservations

Absent

Excused

Abstained

Co-Sponsors

S4402 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A1443
Current Committee:: Assembly Labor
Law Section:: Labor Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §592, Lab L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: S4573, A6592
2021-2022: S8130, A9540

S4402 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to decreasing the length of the suspension period applicable to certain individuals who lose their jobs due to a labor dispute, such as a strike, and who seek to obtain unemployment insurance benefits; decreases the suspension period from two consecutive weeks to one week; permits the waiting period to be served during a suspension period.

S4402 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

 
BILL NUMBER: S4402

SPONSOR: KENNEDY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

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

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF THE BILL:

This bill reduces the amount of time that workers on strike must wait
prior to receiving unemployment insurance benefits.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill reduces, from two consecutive weeks to one week,
the period during which the accumulation of unemployment benefit rights
is suspended for a claimant who loses their employment due to strike or
other industrial controversies, including concerted activity not author-
ized or sanctioned by the recognized or certified bargaining agent of
the claimant, and other concerted activity conducted in violation of any

existing collective bargaining agreement, in the establishment in which
the claimant was employed.  Section 1 also provides that the requisite
waiting period may be served concurrently with the suspension period.

Section 2 sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Until February of 2020, striking workers in New York were required to
wait 7 weeks before collecting unemployment insurance benefits. While
New York has reduced the 49-day suspension period, unionized workers
still do not have parity when it comes to unemployment insurance bene-
fits, the current two-week suspension period is not imposed on other
unemployed individuals seeking UI benefits.

Requiring workers on strike to wait any additional amount of time beyond
what other Ul claimants experience before they are eligible to claim UI
benefits places an undue financial hardship on workers exercising their
legally guaranteed rights to organize, bargain collectively, and strike.
By aligning the amount of time that a UI benefits claimant on strike
must wait with the waiting period applicable to other claimants, the
financial hardship experienced by striking workers will be lessened.

Recently, a strike by nurses in the City of Buffalo lasted for over one
month, meaning nearly half of the strike period did not qualify for UI
benefits. This left striking workers at a disadvantage, forcing the
union to drain their strike fund and workers to risk missing mortgage or
rent payments. While the decrease in the suspension period has helped,
it still leaves workers at a disadvantage for the first two weeks of the
strike. In addition, any administrative delays in receiving their UI
benefits once they do qualify only increases the financial pain
inflicted on striking workers. By decreasing the suspension period to
one week, workers will have the financial security they need to put food
on the table and keep a roof over their head while fighting for the
wages, benefits, and working conditions they deserve.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
S8130/A9540 - Passed Senate

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act takes effect immediately.

S4402 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4402
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 8, 2023
                                ___________
 
 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
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01295-01-3

 S. 4402                             2
 
 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
 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.

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The New York State Senate

senate Bill S4402

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - Passed Senate

Your Voice

Actions

Votes

Jun 1, 2023 - floor Vote

Floor Vote: Jun 1, 2023

May 23, 2023 - Labor committee Vote

Labor Committee Vote: May 23, 2023

Co-Sponsors

S4402 (ACTIVE) - Details

S4402 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S4402 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S4402 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

senate Bill S4402

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Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - Passed Senate

Your Voice

Actions

Votes

Jun 1, 2023 - floor Vote

Floor Vote: Jun 1, 2023

May 23, 2023 - Labor committee Vote

Labor Committee Vote: May 23, 2023

Co-Sponsors

S4402 (ACTIVE) - Details

S4402 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S4402 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S4402 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments