NY Lab L § 502 (2021)
2021 New York Laws LAB - Labor Article 18 - Unemployment Insurance Law Title 1 - Short Title; Public Policy of State 502 - Wage Reporting - Findings and Policy.

§  502.  Wage  reporting - findings and policy. The legislature hereby   finds and declares that New York state is committed  to  developing  the   most  efficient  and  effective  system  possible  for administering the   unemployment insurance system which, for more than a half  century,  has   provided  financial  support to workers who have lost their jobs through   no fault of their own.Unlike all  other  states  and  territories,  which  administer  their   unemployment  insurance  systems  pursuant  to  a  wage reporting system   whereby employers report employee wages on a  regular  basis,  New  York   maintains a wage request system. In order to acquire the enormous amount   of  wage  data  necessary  to  calculate unemployment insurance benefits   using such a system, the department is required to send out hundreds  of   thousands  of  wage requests to employers every year. These requests are   for information which, in large part, is submitted  by  employers  on  a   quarterly  basis  to the statewide wage reporting system administered by   the department of taxation and finance.Given the size and complexity of the unemployment insurance system, an   increase  in  efficiency  will   necessarily   result   in   significant   improvements   in   the  services  provided  to  benefit  claimants  and   employers. The improvements for benefit claimants that would result from   the implementation of a wage reporting system include  more  timely  and   accurate entitlement and benefit rate determinations, a reduction in the   need  to  rely  upon  a  claimant's  own  tax  and wage statements and a   decrease in claimant overpayments which must be  recovered  at  a  later   date.  As  for  employers, they would, for the large majority of benefit   claims filed, no longer be required to provide employee wage  data  upon   request, which would remove a significant employer burden as well as the   potential  for  a  fifty  dollar penalty each time a wage request is not   answered in a timely manner. Wage reporting would also reduce the number   of employers incorrectly charged for benefits.Furthermore, the department is accountable under federal and state law   to  measure  the  success  of  training,  employment  and   reemployment   initiatives operated pursuant to such laws. The assessment of individual   performance  is  the  best way to measure program quality and to develop   program improvements. Job placement, employment  duration  and  earnings   are  basic  outcomes  used  to  measure  such  performance.  Information   surveys, traditionally used to collect such data, have proved to be both   expensive and unreliable because of low response rates and faulty recall   by those who respond. Using the statewide wage reporting system to track   such performance outcomes  will  avoid  these  problems  and  produce  a   reliable system of accountability while placing no additional burdens on   employers.Accordingly,  for the above reasons, section one hundred seventy-one-a   of the tax law is amended to provide the department with complete access   to the wage reporting files maintained by the department of taxation and   finance as the first stage in a transition to an unemployment  insurance   system   based   upon  such  wage  reporting  files,  with  the  express   requirement that the department shall design and operate such system  so   that  an individual eligible for benefits under the current law would be   eligible for the same amount of benefits under a new system  based  upon   the  wage  reporting  files.  In  addition,  complete access to the wage   reporting files  is  granted  for  administration  of  the  department's   employment  security programs as well as for evaluation of the effect on   earnings of participation in training programs with respect to which the   department has reporting, monitoring or evaluating responsibilities.