Relates to an individual's right to request a hearing regarding an unemployment insurance benefits claim; provides such a hearing can be requested if benefits or a written notice of determination denying their claim are not received within thirty days of providing all required information.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A6945
SPONSOR: Burdick
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the labor law, in relation to an individual's right to
request a hearing regarding an unemployment insurance benefits claim
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To allow applicants for unemployment insurance benefits to request a
hearing if they do not receive benefits or a notice of initial determi-
nation within thirty days of completing an application and to require
the Department of Labor to notify them of their right to a hearing when
they apply.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends subdivision six of section 596 of the labor law to add
a new paragraph e requiring that the Department of Labor advise an indi-
vidual filing a new claim for benefits that they have a right to request
a hearing if, after thirty days of completing an application for bene-
fits, they have not begun receiving benefits and have not received a
written notice of determination denying benefits.
§ 2 amends subdivision one of section 620 of the labor law to provide
that where an unemployment insurance benefits claimant has not begun
receiving benefits and has not received a written notice of determi-
nation denying benefits within thirty days of completing the application
for benefits the claimant may request a. hearing.
§ 3 provides the effective date and directs the Department of Labor to
add, amend, or repeal any rule or regulation necessary for implementa-
tion of the act.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Unprecedented numbers of New Yorkers applying for unemployment assist-
ance swamped the Department of Labor early in the COVID-19 pandemic. In
the months following the first deluge of claims, many claimants received
little or no communication from the Department of Labor for weeks or in
some cases months. Even now, three years after devastating job losses
began the rush for much needed support, many claimants still do not
receive timely determinations regarding their claims.
Current law provides a right to a hearing to an unemployment insurance
benefit claimant only after receipt of a notice of determination. Where
the claimant has neither begun to receive benefits nor received a notice
of determination denying benefits, there is no means by which to request
a hearing no matter how much time has elapsed since the initial date of
application.
By allowing individuals to request a hearing if they have not received
benefits or notice that their claim has been denied within 30 days, this
bill will provide claimants with some recourse.
Further, providing a right to a hearing when thirty days have elapsed
with no decision on benefit eligibility, brings the Department of Labor
in line with the eligibility determination time frame for other state-
administered benefits such as Family Assistance, Safety Net Assistance,
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, and Medical
Assistance benefits. All of these programs must make a determination and
issue a notice of determination within 30 days of an application for
benefits except in certain well-defined circumstances. Where applicants
disagree with the determination, or where no determination has been
timely issued, applicants have a right to a hearing. Unemployment insur-
ance claimants deserve the same consideration.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect 90 days after it shall become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6945
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 9, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BURDICK -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Labor
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to an individual's right to
request a hearing regarding an unemployment insurance benefits claim
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 6 of section 596 of the labor law is amended by
2 adding a new paragraph (e) to read as follows:
3 (e) If the individual does not begin to receive benefits or does not
4 receive a written notice of determination denying their claim within
5 thirty days of furnishing all of the information required under para-
6 graph (a) of subdivision two of section five hundred ninety-seven of
7 this title, they have the right to request a hearing as described in
8 paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section six hundred twenty of this
9 article.
10 § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 620 of the labor law,
11 as amended by chapter 554 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as
12 follows:
13 (a) A claimant who is dissatisfied with an initial determination of
14 his or her claim for benefits or any other party, including any employer
15 whose employer account percentage might be affected by such determi-
16 nation may, within thirty days after the mailing or personal delivery of
17 notice of such determination, request a hearing. Where such notice of
18 determination has not been issued by the department, or received by the
19 claimant, within thirty days of claimant's filing a claim for benefits
20 and furnishing the required information, as provided for by subdivision
21 one of section five hundred ninety-seven of this article, the claimant
22 may request a hearing under the presumption that their claim has been
23 denied. The referee may extend the time fixed for requesting a hearing,
24 upon evidence that the physical condition or mental incapacity of the
25 claimant prevented the claimant from filing an appeal within thirty days
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10982-01-3
A. 6945 2
1 of the initial determination. Any employer whose employer account
2 percentage might be affected by such determination, irrespective of
3 whether or not such employer was a party to a hearing brought hereunder,
4 shall have access to all records of any hearing brought hereunder by any
5 party relating to such determination, provided, however, that those
6 records shall be subject to redaction or shall be withheld in accordance
7 with applicable federal or state statutory and regulatory requirements
8 governing information confidentiality and personal privacy, including,
9 but not limited to, article six and article six-A of the public officers
10 law.
11 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
12 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
13 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of
14 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
15 on or before such date.