2023 New York Laws › LAB - Labor › Article 18 - Unemployment Insurance Law › Title 7 - Benefits and Claims › 591 - Eligibility for Benefits.

§  591. Eligibility for benefits.  * 1. Unemployment. Benefits, except
as provided in section five hundred ninety-one-a of this title, shall be
paid only to a claimant who is totally unemployed and who is  unable  to
engage  in  his  usual  employment  or  in  any  other  for  which he is
reasonably  fitted  by  training  and  experience.  A  claimant  who  is
receiving  benefits under this article shall not be denied such benefits
pursuant to this subdivision or  to  subdivision  two  of  this  section
because of such claimant's service on a grand or petit jury of any state
or of the United States.
* NB Effective until the first Monday after October 1, 2024 or 30 days
after  the  commissioner of labor certifies that the department of labor
has an  information  technology  system  capable  of  accommodating  the
amendments in chapter 277 of 2021, whichever occurs earlier (see chapter
56 of 2024 Pt.Z-§1 for further provisions)
* 1.  Unemployment.  Benefits,  except  as  provided  in  section five
hundred ninety-one-a of this title, shall be paid only to a claimant who
is totally  unemployed  or  partially  unemployed.  A  claimant  who  is
receiving  benefits under this article shall not be denied such benefits
pursuant to this subdivision or  to  subdivision  two  of  this  section
because of such claimant's service on a grand or petit jury of any state
or of the United States.
* NB  Effective  on  the first Monday after October 1, 2024 or 30 days
after the commissioner of labor certifies that the department  of  labor
has  an  information  technology  system  capable  of  accommodating the
amendments in chapter 277 of 2021, whichever occurs earlier (see chapter
56 of 2024 Pt.Z-§1 for further provisions) until December 7, 2025
* 1. Unemployment. Benefits shall be paid only to a  claimant  who  is
totally  unemployed or partially unemployed. A claimant who is receiving
benefits under this article shall not be denied such  benefits  pursuant
to  this  subdivision  or  to subdivision two of this section because of
such claimant's service on a grand or petit jury of any state or of  the
United States.
* NB Effective December 7, 2025
* 2.  Availability  and capability. Except as provided in section five
hundred ninety-one-a of this title, no benefits shall be payable to  any
claimant  who  is  not  capable of work or who is not ready, willing and
able to work in his usual employment or in any other  for  which  he  is
reasonably fitted by training and experience.
* NB Effective until December 7, 2025
* 2.  Availability,  capability, and work search. No benefits shall be
payable to any claimant who is not capable of work or who is not  ready,
willing  and able to work in his or her usual employment or in any other
for which he or she is reasonably fitted by training and experience  and
who is not actively seeking work. In order to be actively seeking work a
claimant  must  be  engaged  in systematic and sustained efforts to find
work. The commissioner shall promulgate regulations defining  systematic
and  sustained  efforts to find work and setting standards for the proof
of work search efforts. Such regulations shall  take  into  account  the
need for claimants to provide child care for their child or children.
* NB Effective December 7, 2025
3. Vacation period or holiday.
* (a)  No benefits shall be payable to a claimant for any day during a
paid vacation period, or for a paid holiday, nor shall any such  day  be
considered  a  day  of  total  unemployment  under  section five hundred
twenty-two of this article.
* NB Effective until the first Monday after October 1, 2024 or 30 days
after the commissioner of labor certifies that the department  of  labor
has  an  information  technology  system  capable  of  accommodating the

amendments in chapter 277 of 2021, whichever occurs earlier (see chapter
56 of 2024 Pt.Z-§1 for further provisions)
* (a)  Compensation  paid  to  a  claimant  for  any day during a paid
vacation period, or for a paid holiday, shall be considered compensation
from employment and shall be included in the calculation of a claimant's
benefit for partial unemployment as set forth  in  subdivision  five  of
section five hundred ninety of this article.
* NB  Effective  on  the first Monday after October 1, 2024 or 30 days
after the commissioner of labor certifies that the department  of  labor
has  an  information  technology  system  capable  of  accommodating the
amendments in chapter 277 of 2021, whichever occurs earlier (see chapter
56 of 2024 Pt.Z-§1 for further provisions)
(b) The term "vacation period", as used in this subdivision, means the
time designated for vacation purposes in accordance with the  collective
bargaining  agreement  or the employment contract or by the employer and
the claimant, his union, or his representative. If either the collective
bargaining agreement or the employment contract is  silent  as  to  such
time,  or  if  there be no collective bargaining agreement or employment
contract, then the time so designated in writing and  announced  to  the
employees  in  advance by the employer is to be considered such vacation
period.
(c) A paid vacation period or a paid holiday is a vacation period or a
holiday for which a claimant is given a payment or allowance  not  later
than thirty days thereafter, directly by his employer or through a fund,
trustee,  custodian  or like medium provided the amount thereof has been
contributed solely by the employer on behalf of  the  claimant  and  the
amount  so  contributed  by  the  employer  is  paid over in full to the
claimant without any deductions other than those required by  law,  even
if  such  payment  or  allowance  be deemed to be rumuneration for prior
services rendered as an accrued contractual right, and  irrespective  of
whether the employment has or has not been terminated.
(d)  Any  agreement expressed or implied by a claimant or by his union
or other representative to a plant or department shut down for  vacation
purposes  is  not of itself to be considered either a withdrawal by such
employee from the labor market during the time  of  such  vacation  shut
down or to render him unavailable for employment during the time of such
vacation shut down.
4.  (a) An unemployed individual shall be eligible to receive benefits
with respect to  any  week  only  if  such  individual  participates  in
reemployment services, such as job search assistance services, available
under any state or federal law, if the individual has been determined to
be  likely  to  exhaust regular benefits and needs reemployment services
pursuant to a profiling system established by the  commissioner,  unless
the commissioner determines that:
(i) the individual has completed such services; or
(ii)  there  is  justifiable  cause  for  the  claimant's  failure  to
participate in such services.
(b) Such profiling system shall be established pursuant to a  plan  of
the department which shall include, but not be limited to:
(i) specification of the profiling methodology, including factors used
to   determine  a  claimant's  required  participation  in  reemployment
services and  the  statistical  relationship  of  such  factors  to  the
exhaustion of benefits by certain claimants;
(ii)  standards  to be used to insure that all claimants are uniformly
evaluated against the profiling criteria;
(iii) a description of criteria to be  used  to  make  assignments  to
basic reemployment services offered;
(iv) procedures for notification of the right of appeal and for appeal
by   a  claimant  of  the  profiling  assessment  and  referral  of  the
department;
(v)  an  evaluation  of  the extent to which reemployment services are
available throughout the state and accessible to claimants;
(vi) a demonstration of efforts by the department to  coordinate  with
the local providers offering reemployment services, to avoid duplication
of  services  among  providers offering similar reemployment services to
the same participant group;
(vii) policies and procedures for referrals to reemployment  services,
including referrals to providers other than the department; and
(viii)  guidelines  governing the extent to which education and skills
or occupational training shall be offered.
(c) The department shall, at a time and in a  manner  consistent  with
federal  requirements, submit a report to the temporary president of the
senate  and  the  speaker  of  the  assembly  on  the  profiling  system
authorized herein except that such report:
(i)  shall  be  submitted to the temporary president of the senate and
the speaker of the assembly no  later  than  September  first,  nineteen
hundred ninety-five and annually thereafter, and
(ii)  shall include data on the number of individuals profiled and the
number  of  profiled  individuals  exhausting  benefits  as  well  as  a
description  of the service or services provided to profiled individuals
and the number of individuals referred for reemployment services  during
the program year ending the preceding June thirtieth.
5.  Maximum  combined  payments.  If  a claimant is receiving benefits
pursuant  to  subdivision  six  of  section  fifteen  of  the   workers'
compensation  law,  the unemployment benefits to which a claimant may be
entitled pursuant to this article shall be  limited  to  the  difference
between  the  amount  of  workers' compensation benefits and one hundred
percent of the claimant's average weekly wage.
6. Dismissal pay.  * (a) No benefits shall be payable  to  a  claimant
for  any  week  during  a dismissal period for which a claimant receives
dismissal pay, nor shall any day within such week be considered a day of
total  unemployment  under  section  five  hundred  twenty-two  of  this
article, if such weekly dismissal pay exceeds the maximum weekly benefit
rate.
* NB Effective until the first Monday after October 1, 2024 or 30 days
after  the  commissioner of labor certifies that the department of labor
has an  information  technology  system  capable  of  accommodating  the
amendments in chapter 277 of 2021, whichever occurs earlier (see chapter
56 of 2024 Pt.Z-§1 for further provisions)
* (a) No benefits shall be payable to a claimant for any week during a
dismissal  period  for  which  a claimant receives dismissal pay if such
weekly dismissal pay exceeds the claimant's maximum weekly benefit  rate
plus the claimant's partial benefit credit.
* NB  Effective  on  the first Monday after October 1, 2024 or 30 days
after the commissioner of labor certifies that the department  of  labor
has  an  information  technology  system  capable  of  accommodating the
amendments in chapter 277 of 2021, whichever occurs earlier (see chapter
56 of 2024 Pt.Z-§1 for further provisions)
(b) The term "dismissal pay", as used in this subdivision,  means  one
or  more  payments  made by an employer to an employee due to his or her
separation from service  of  the  employer  regardless  of  whether  the
employer is legally bound by contract, statute or otherwise to make such
payments.  The  term  does not include payments for pension, retirement,
accrued  leave,  and  health  insurance  or  payments  for  supplemental
unemployment benefits.
(c)  The  term  "dismissal period", as used in this subdivision, means
the time designated for weeks  of  dismissal  pay  attributable  to  the
claimant's  weekly earnings in accordance with the collective bargaining
agreement, employment contract, employer's dismissal  policy,  dismissal
agreement  with  the  employer  or  other  such  agreement.  If  no such
agreement, contract or policy designates a dismissal  period,  then  the
dismissal  period  shall be the time designated in writing in advance by
the employer to be considered the dismissal period. If no time period is
designated, the dismissal period shall commence on  the  day  after  the
claimant's last day of employment. If the dismissal payment is in a lump
sum  amount  or  for  an  indefinite period, dismissal payments shall be
allocated on a weekly basis from the day after the claimant's  last  day
of  employment  and  the claimant shall not be eligible for benefits for
any week for which it is determined that the claimant receives dismissal
pay. The amount of  dismissal  pay  shall  be  allocated  based  on  the
claimant's actual weekly remuneration paid by the employer during his or
her  employment  or,  if such amount cannot be determined, the amount of
the claimant's average weekly wage for the highest calendar quarter.
(d) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the provisions of this  subdivision
shall  not  apply  during  any  weeks  in  which  the initial payment of
dismissal pay is made more than thirty days from the  last  day  of  the
claimant's employment.