2023 New York Laws › LAB - Labor › Article 18 - Unemployment Insurance Law › Title 7 - Benefits and Claims › 599 - Career and Related Training; Preservation of Eligibility.

§  599.  Career  and related training; preservation of eligibility. 1.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this article,  a  claimant  shall
not  become  ineligible  for  benefits because of the claimant's regular
attendance in a program of training which the commissioner has approved.
The  commissioner  shall  give  due  consideration   to   existing   and
prospective  conditions  of  the  labor market in the state, taking into
account  present  and  anticipated  supply  and  demand  regarding   the
occupation  or  skill  to  which  the training relates, and to any other
relevant factor. However, in no event  shall  the  commissioner  approve
such training for a claimant unless:
(a)  (1)  the  training  will upgrade the claimant's existing skill or
train the claimant for an occupation likely to lead to more regular long
term employment; or
(2)  employment  opportunities  for  the  claimant  are  or   may   be
substantially impaired because of:
(i)  existing  or  prospective  conditions  of the labor market in the
locality or in the state or reduced opportunities for employment in  the
claimant's occupation or skill; or
(ii)   technological   change,   plant   closing   or  plant  removal,
discontinuance of specific plant operations, or similar reasons; or
(iii) limited opportunities for employment throughout the year due  to
the seasonal nature of the industry in which the claimant is customarily
employed; or
(iv)  the  claimant's  personal  traits  such  as  physical  or mental
handicap; and
(b) the training relates to an occupation or  skill  for  which  there
are,  or  are  expected  to  be  in  the  immediate  future,  reasonable
employment opportunities in the state; and
(c) the training is offered by a competent  and  reliable  agency  and
does not require more than twenty-four months to complete; and
(d)  the  claimant  has  the  required qualifications and aptitudes to
complete the training successfully.
2.   * (a) Notwithstanding any other  provision  of  this  chapter,  a
claimant  attending  an  approved  training course or program under this
section may receive additional  benefits  of  up  to  one  hundred  four
effective  days  following  exhaustion of regular and, if in effect, any
other extended benefits, provided that  entitlement  to  a  new  benefit
claim  cannot  be  established.  Certification of continued satisfactory
participation and progress in such training course or  program  must  be
submitted to the commissioner prior to the payment of any such benefits.
The  duration  of such additional benefits shall in no case exceed twice
the number of effective days of regular benefits to which  the  claimant
is  entitled  at  the  time the claimant is accepted in, or demonstrates
application for appropriate training.
* 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) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a  claimant
attending  an approved training course or program under this section may
receive additional benefits of up to twenty-six times his or her  weekly
benefit  amount  following  exhaustion of regular and, if in effect, any
other extended benefits, provided that  entitlement  to  a  new  benefit
claim  cannot  be  established.  Certification of continued satisfactory
participation and progress in such training course or  program  must  be
submitted to the commissioner prior to the payment of any such benefits.
The amount of such additional benefits shall in no case exceed twice the

amount of regular benefits to which the claimant is entitled at the time
the claimant is accepted in, or demonstrates application for appropriate
training.
* 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) No more than twenty million dollars of benefits per year shall  be
made available for payment to claimants participating in such courses or
programs.
(c)  Participation  in  such  training  course or program shall not be
limited to any selected areas or localities of the state but subject  to
the  availability of funds, shall be available to any claimant otherwise
eligible to participate in training courses or programs pursuant to this
section.
(d) The additional benefits paid to a claimant shall be charged to the
general account.
3. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, a claimant who
is in training approved under the federal trade act of nineteen  hundred
seventy-four shall not be disqualified or become ineligible for benefits
because  he  is  in such training or because he left employment which is
not suitable employment to enter such  training.  For  purposes  hereof,
"suitable  employment"  means  work  of  a substantially equal or higher
skill level than the claimant's past adversely affected  employment  and
for  which  the  remuneration  is  not  less  than eighty percent of the
claimant's average weekly wage.