§ 593 — Disqualification for benefits

New York § 593

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law LAB: Labor
• Title 7: Benefits and Claims
• Art. 18: Unemployment Insurance Law

Text

§ 593. Disqualification for benefits. 1. Voluntary separation;\nseparation for a compelling family reason. (a) No weeks of total\nunemployment or partial unemployment shall be deemed to occur after a\nclaimant's voluntary separation without good cause from employment until\nhe or she has subsequently worked in employment and earned remuneration\nat least equal to ten times his or her weekly benefit rate. In addition\nto other circumstances that may be found to constitute good cause,\nincluding a compelling family reason as set forth in paragraph (b) of\nthis subdivision, voluntary separation from employment shall not in\nitself disqualify a claimant if circumstances have developed in the\ncourse of such employment that would have justified the claimant in\nrefusing such employment in the first instance under the terms of\nsubdivision two of this section or if the claimant, pursuant to an\noption provided under a collective bargaining agreement or written\nemployer plan which permits waiver of his or her right to retain the\nemployment when there is a temporary layoff because of lack of work, has\nelected to be separated for a temporary period and the employer has\nconsented thereto.\n (b) A claimant shall not be disqualified from receiving benefits for\nseparation from employment due to any compelling family reason. For\npurposes of this paragraph, the term "compelling family reason" shall\ninclude, but not be limited to, separations related to any of the\nfollowing:\n (i) domestic violence, verified by reasonable and confidential\ndocumentation which causes the individual reasonably to believe that\nsuch individual's continued employment would jeopardize his or her\nsafety or the safety of any member of his or her immediate family.\n (ii) the illness or disability of a member of the individual's\nimmediate family. For the purposes of this subparagraph:\n (A) The term "illness" means a verified illness which necessitates the\ncare of the ill person for a period of time longer than the employer is\nwilling to grant leave (paid or otherwise).\n (B) The term "disability" means a verified disability which\nnecessitates the care of the disabled person for a period of time longer\nthan the employer is willing to grant leave (paid or otherwise).\n"Disability" encompasses all types of disability, including: (1) mental\nand physical disability; (2) permanent and temporary disabilities; and\n(3) partial and total disabilities.\n (iii) the need for the individual to accompany such individual's\nspouse (A) to a place from which it is impractical for such individual\nto commute and (B) due to a change in location of the spouse's\nemployment.\n * (iv) where the spouse of the individual is a member of the armed\nforces of the United States, the need for the individual to accompany\nsuch individual's spouse (A) to a place from which it is impractical for\nsuch individual to commute and (B) due to a change in location as a\nresult of a military transfer of the spouse.\n * NB There are 2 sbpar (iv)'s\n * (iv) the need for the individual to provide child care to the\nindividual's child if such individual has made reasonable efforts to\nsecure alternative child care.\n * NB There are 2 sbpar (iv)'s\n (c) A disqualification as provided in this subdivision shall also\napply after a claimant's voluntary separation from employment if such\nvoluntary separation was due to claimant's marriage.\n 2. Refusal of employment. No weeks of total unemployment or partial\nunemployment shall be deemed to occur beginning with the week in which a\nclaimant, without good cause, refuses to accept an offer of employment\nfor which he or she is reasonably fitted by training and experience,\nincluding employment not subject to this article, until he or she has\nsubsequently worked in employment and earned remuneration at least equal\nto ten times his or her weekly benefit rate. Except that claimants who\nare not subject to a recall date or who do not obtain employment through\na union hiring hall and who are still unemployed after receiving ten\nweeks of benefits shall be required to accept any employment proffered\nthat such claimants are capable of performing, provided that such\nemployment would result in a wage not less than eighty percent of such\nclaimant's high calendar quarter wages received in the base period and\nnot substantially less than the prevailing wage for similar work in the\nlocality as provided for in paragraph (d) of this subdivision. No\nrefusal to accept employment shall be deemed without good cause nor\nshall it disqualify any claimant otherwise eligible to receive benefits\nif:\n (a) a refusal to accept employment which would interfere with a\nclaimant's right to join or retain membership in any labor organization\nor otherwise interfere with or violate the terms of a collective\nbargaining agreement shall be with good cause;\n (b) there is a strike, lockout, or other industrial controversy in the\nestablishment in which the employment is offered; or\n (c) the employment is at an unreasonable distance from his residence,\nor travel to and from the place of employment involves expense\nsubstantially greater than that required in his former employment unless\nthe expense be provided for; or\n (d) the wages or compensation or hours or conditions offered are\nsubstantially less favorable to the claimant than those prevailing for\nsimilar work in the locality, or are such as tend to depress wages or\nworking conditions; or\n (e) the claimant is seeking part-time work as provided in subdivision\nfive of section five hundred ninety-six of this title and the offer of\nemployment is not comparable to his or her part-time work as defined in\nsuch subdivision.\n 3. Misconduct. No weeks of total unemployment or partial unemployment\nshall be deemed to occur after a claimant lost employment through\nmisconduct in connection with his or her employment until he or she has\nsubsequently worked in employment and earned remuneration at least equal\nto ten times his or her weekly benefit rate.\n 4. Criminal acts. No weeks of total unemployment or partial\nunemployment shall be deemed to occur during a period of twelve months\nafter a claimant loses employment as a result of an act constituting a\nfelony in connection with such employment, provided the claimant is duly\nconvicted thereof or has signed a statement admitting that he or she has\ncommitted such an act. Determinations regarding a benefit claim may be\nreviewed at any time. Any benefits paid to a claimant prior to a\ndetermination that the claimant has lost employment as a result of such\nact shall not be considered to have been accepted by the claimant in\ngood faith. In addition, remuneration paid to the claimant by the\naffected employer prior to the claimant's loss of employment due to such\ncriminal act may not be utilized for the purpose of establishing\nentitlement to a subsequent, valid original claim. The provisions of\nthis subdivision shall apply even if the employment lost as a result of\nsuch act is not the claimant's last employment prior to the filing of\nhis or her claim.\n 5. Terms of disqualification. A disqualification pursuant to the\nprovisions of this section shall not be confined to a single benefit\nyear.\n 6. Determinations and hearings. The commissioner shall issue a\ndetermination for any protest that is filed by any base period employer\nwithin the time specified in the notification of potential charges based\non voluntary separations or misconduct. An employer or claimant may\nrequest a hearing of such determination pursuant to section six hundred\ntwenty of this article.\n