§ 25-B — Power to administer the workers with disabilities tax credit program

§ 25-b. Power to administer the workers with disabilities tax credit\nprogram. (a) The commissioner is authorized to establish and administer\nthe workers with disabilities tax credit program to provide tax\nincentives to employers for employing individuals with developmental\ndisabilities. The commissioner is authorized to allocate up to six\nmillion dollars of tax credits annually.\n (b) Definitions. (1) The term "qualified employer" means an employer\nthat has been certified by the commissioner to participate in the\nworkers with disabilities tax credit program and that employs one or\nmore qualified employees.\n (2) The term "qualified employee" means an individual:\n (i) who is deemed to have a developmental disability, as that term is\ndefined in subdivision twenty-two of section 1.03 of the mental hygiene\nlaw and who is certified by the education department or the office for\npeople with developmental disabilities as a person with a disability\nwhich constitutes or results in a substantial handicap to employment;\nand\n (ii) who is a current employee of a sheltered workshop, which for\npurposes of this subdivision is defined as an organization or\nenvironment that employs people with disabilities segregated from\nothers; or who was unemployed for at least three months prior to January\nfirst, two thousand fifteen; and\n (iii) who has worked for the qualified employer in a full-time or\npart-time position that pays wages that are equivalent to the wages paid\nfor similar jobs, with appropriate adjustments for experience and\ntraining, and for which no other employee has been terminated, or where\nthe employer has not otherwise reduced its workforce by involuntary\nterminations with the intention of filling the vacancy by creating a new\nhire; and\n (iv) who has not worked for an entity related to the qualified\nemployer in the past twenty-four months; and\n (v) is employed in New York at a location in New York state.\n (c) A qualified employer shall be entitled to a tax credit. The tax\ncredits shall be claimed by the qualified employer as specified in\nsubdivision forty-eight of section two hundred ten-B and subsection (zz)\nof section six hundred six of the tax law.\n (d) To participate in the workers with disabilities tax credit\nprogram, an employer must submit an application (in a form prescribed by\nthe commissioner) to the commissioner. The commissioner shall establish\nguidelines that specify requirements for employers to participate in the\nprogram including criteria for certifying qualified employees. Any\nregulations that the commissioner determines are necessary may be\nadopted on an emergency basis notwithstanding anything to the contrary\nin section two hundred two of the state administrative procedure act.\nSuch requirements may include the types of industries that the employers\nare engaged in.\n (e) If, after reviewing the application submitted by an employer, the\ncommissioner determines that such employer is eligible to participate in\nthe workers with disabilities tax credit program, the commissioner shall\nissue the employer a preliminary certificate of eligibility that\nestablishes the employer as a qualified employer. The certificate of\neligibility shall specify the maximum amount of workers with\ndisabilities tax credit that the employer will be allowed to claim. At\nthe end of the taxable year, a qualified employer must obtain a final\ncertificate of eligibility from the commissioner to file with a return\nclaiming the credit. The final certificate must contain the\ncertificate's taxable year to which the credit applies, the maximum\namount of the credit allowed, the qualified employer's name and employer\nidentification number, the employer's business address where the claimed\nemployees were employed, the social security numbers of claimed\nemployees and their hire and termination dates, verification that the\nclaimed employees have met the statutory definition of "qualified\nemployee", and each employee's total hours worked each quarter, hourly\nwage, and full-time or part-time status.\n (f) The tax credits provided under this program shall be applicable to\ntaxable periods beginning before January first, two thousand\ntwenty-nine.\n