§ 592 — Suspension of accumulation of benefit rights

§ 592. Suspension of accumulation of benefit rights. 1. Industrial\ncontroversy. (a) The accumulation of benefit rights by a claimant shall\nbe suspended during a period of one week beginning with the day after\nsuch claimant lost their employment because of a strike or other\nindustrial controversy except for lockouts, including concerted activity\nnot authorized or sanctioned by the recognized or certified bargaining\nagent of the claimant, and other concerted activity conducted in\nviolation of any existing collective bargaining agreement, in the\nestablishment in which such claimant was employed, except that benefit\nrights may be accumulated before the expiration of such one week period\nbeginning with the day after such strike or other industrial controversy\nwas terminated.\n (b) Benefits shall not be suspended under this section if:\n (i) The employer hires a permanent replacement worker for the\nemployee's position. A replacement worker shall be presumed to be\npermanent unless the employer certifies in writing that the employee\nwill be able to return to such employee's prior position upon conclusion\nof the strike, in the event the strike terminates prior to the\nconclusion of the employee's eligibility for benefit rights under this\nchapter. In the event the employer does not permit such return after\nsuch certification, the employee shall be entitled to recover any\nbenefits lost as a result of the one week suspension of benefits, and\nthe department may impose a penalty upon the employer of up to seven\nhundred fifty dollars per employee per week of benefits lost. The\npenalty collected shall be paid into the unemployment insurance control\nfund established pursuant to section five hundred fifty-two-b of this\narticle; or\n (ii) The commissioner determines that the claimant:\n (A) is not employed by an employer that is involved in the industrial\ncontroversy that caused such claimant's unemployment and is not\nparticipating in the industrial controversy; or\n (B) is not in a bargaining unit involved in the industrial controversy\nthat caused such claimant's unemployment and is not participating in the\nindustrial controversy.\n 2. Concurrent payments prohibited. No weeks of total unemployment or\npartial unemployment shall be deemed to occur in any week with respect\nto which a claimant has received or is seeking unemployment benefits\nunder an unemployment compensation law of any other state or of the\nUnited States, provided that this provision shall not apply if the\nappropriate agency of such other state or of the United States finally\ndetermines that he is not entitled to such unemployment benefits.\n 3. Terms of suspension. No waiting period may be served during a\nsuspension period.\n The suspension of accumulation of benefit rights shall not be\nterminated by subsequent employment of the claimant irrespective of when\nthe claim is filed except as provided in subdivision one of this section\nand shall not be confined to a single benefit year.\n A "week" as used in subdivision one of this section means any seven\nconsecutive calendar days.\n