Bill Text: NY S06244 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Waives Unemployment Pandemic Benefits repayments in whole or in part if the payment of such pandemic unemployment assistance was without fault on the part of the claimant and such repayment would be contrary to equity and good conscience.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 18-7)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-05-02 - referred to labor [S06244 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S06244-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         6244--A

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                     April 19, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sens. KRUEGER, HOYLMAN -- read twice and ordered printed,
          and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor --  commit-
          tee  discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recom-
          mitted to said committee

        AN ACT amending the labor law, in relation to waiving pandemic unemploy-
          ment assistance repayments under certain circumstances; and  providing
          for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section  597-a  to
     2  read as follows:
     3    §  597-a.  Waiver authority for certain overpayments of pandemic unem-
     4  ployment assistance. 1. Definitions. As used in this section:  "Pandemic
     5  unemployment assistance" shall mean unemployment insurance or assistance
     6  payments made during the period of state disaster emergency declared  by
     7  executive  order  202  on March seventh, two thousand twenty pursuant to
     8  any programs provided for by:
     9    (a) Title II of the federal CARES Act;
    10    (b) The federal Continued Assistance for  Unemployed  Workers  Act  of
    11  2020 within the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021; or
    12    (c) Title IX of the Federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
    13    2.  Waiver  of  certain  repayments.  When a claimant has received any
    14  amount of pandemic unemployment assistance to which  such  claimant  was
    15  not  entitled,  the  department shall require such claimant to repay the
    16  amount of such  pandemic  unemployment  assistance  to  the  department,
    17  except  that  the  commissioner  shall waive such repayment if he or she
    18  determines that:
    19    (a) the payment of such pandemic unemployment assistance  was  without
    20  fault on the part of such claimant; and
    21    (b) such repayment would be contrary to equity and good conscience.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10911-02-1
        S. 6244--A                          2

     1    3. Favorability to claimant. Evidence pertaining to paragraphs (a) and
     2  (b) of subdivision two of this section shall be interpreted to be favor-
     3  able  to the claimant to the maximum extent permissible under applicable
     4  federal law.
     5    4.  Notice  of right to appeal or request waiver. When a determination
     6  by the commissioner or a decision by a referee, the appeal board,  or  a
     7  court  results  in  a  decrease  or  denial of any pandemic unemployment
     8  assistance payments previously dispersed to  the  claimant,  or  at  any
     9  other time it is determined that an overpayment of pandemic unemployment
    10  assistance  payments  has  occurred,  the claimant shall have a right to
    11  appeal such determination in accordance with  the  provisions  of  title
    12  eight of this article. Upon such determination or decision, the claimant
    13  shall  be notified in writing, by mail or electronically, within fifteen
    14  days of such determination or decision of his or  her  right  to  appeal
    15  such  determination  or  decision and to request a waiver of recovery of
    16  such overpayment. Such notice shall include, but shall  not  be  limited
    17  to:
    18    (i)  The  total amount of such overpayment and the cause of such over-
    19  payment;
    20    (ii) The schedule of repayment for such amounts overpaid;
    21    (iii) The means by which the commissioner is entitled  to  collect  or
    22  recover such overpayment;
    23    (iv)  An  explanation  of the claimant's right to appeal such determi-
    24  nation or decision in accordance with the provisions of this article and
    25  any rules and regulations promulgated thereunder;
    26    (v) An explanation of the standards by which a claimant shall  not  be
    27  found liable for the amounts overpaid, as set forth in this section; and
    28    (vi) The process by which the claimant may request and obtain a waiver
    29  of recovery of such overpayment.
    30    5.  Implementation  of  process.  The  commissioner  shall develop and
    31  implement a process by which claimants may request and obtain  a  waiver
    32  of recovery of pandemic unemployment assistance overpayment.
    33    6.  Waiver  as an initial determination. Nothing in this section shall
    34  be construed to limit the authority  of  the  commissioner  to  make  an
    35  initial determination to waive such overpayment without a request by the
    36  claimant.
    37    §  2.  This act shall take immediately and shall apply to all pandemic
    38  unemployment assistance repayments assessed on or after March  27,  2020
    39  and shall expire December 31, 2022 when upon such date the provisions of
    40  this  act  shall  be deemed repealed; provided, however that such repeal
    41  shall not affect waivers made for the amounts  received  prior  to  that
    42  date.