STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
542
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 9, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BURGOS, MITAYNES, SIMON, DARLING, COLTON, GONZA-
LEZ-ROJAS -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to penalties for wilful false
statements for unemployment purposes
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 594 of the labor law, as amended by section 16 of
2 part O of chapter 57 of the laws of 2013, subdivisions 1 and 2 as
3 amended by chapter 277 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as
4 follows:
5 § 594. [Reduction and recovery] Recovery of benefits and penalties for
6 wilful false statement.
7 (1) A claimant or employer who has wilfully made a false statement or
8 representation to obtain or avoid any benefit under the provisions of
9 this article shall [forfeit benefits for at least the first one but not
10 more than the first twenty effective weeks following discovery of such
11 offense for which he or she otherwise would have been entitled to
12 receive benefits. Such penalty shall apply only once with respect to
13 each such offense.
14 (2) For the purpose of subdivision four of section five hundred ninety
15 of this article, the claimant shall be deemed to have received benefits
16 for such forfeited effective weeks.
17 (3) The penalty provided in this section shall not be confined to a
18 single benefit year but shall no longer apply in whole or in part after
19 the expiration of two years from the date of the final determination.
20 Such two-year period shall be tolled during the time period a claimant
21 has an appeal pending.
22 (4)] be subject to the penalties set forth in this section.
23 (2) A claimant shall refund all moneys received because of such false
24 statement or representation and pay a civil penalty in an amount equal
25 to the greater of one hundred dollars or fifteen percent of the total
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02055-01-3
A. 542 2
1 overpaid benefits determined pursuant to this section. An employer who
2 wilfully made a false statement or representation to avoid payment of
3 any benefit under the provisions of this article shall pay a civil
4 penalty in an amount equal to the greater of one hundred dollars or
5 fifteen percent of the total benefit determined pursuant to this
6 section. The penalties collected hereunder shall be deposited in the
7 fund. The penalties assessed under this subdivision shall apply and be
8 assessed for any benefits paid under federal unemployment and extended
9 unemployment programs administered by the department in the same manner
10 as provided in this article. The penalties in this section shall be in
11 addition to any penalties imposed under this chapter or any state or
12 federal criminal statute. No penalties or interest assessed pursuant to
13 this section may be deducted or withheld from benefits.
14 [(5)] (3) (a) Upon a determination based upon a willful false state-
15 ment or representation becoming final through exhaustion of appeal
16 rights or failure to exhaust hearing rights, the commissioner may
17 recover the amount found to be due by commencing a civil action, or by
18 filing with the county clerk of the county where the claimant resides
19 the final determination of the commissioner or the final decision by an
20 administrative law judge, the appeal board, or a court containing the
21 amount found to be due including interest and civil penalty. The commis-
22 sioner may only make such a filing with the county clerk when:
23 (i) The claimant has responded to requests for information prior to a
24 determination and such requests for information notified the claimant of
25 his or her rights to a fair hearing as well as the potential conse-
26 quences of an investigation and final determination under this section
27 including the notice required by subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (b) of
28 this subdivision. Additionally if the claimant requested a fair hearing
29 or appeal subsequent to a determination, that the claimant was present
30 either in person or through electronic means at such hearing, or subse-
31 quent appeal from which a final determination was rendered;
32 (ii) The commissioner has made efforts to collect on such final deter-
33 mination; and
34 (iii) The commissioner has sent a notice, in accordance with paragraph
35 (b) of this subdivision, of intent to docket such final determination by
36 first class or certified mail, return receipt requested, ten days prior
37 to the docketing of such determination.
38 (b) The notice required in subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a) of this
39 subdivision shall include the following:
40 (i) That the commissioner intends to docket a final determination
41 against such claimant as a judgment;
42 (ii) The total amount to be docketed; and
43 (iii) Conspicuous language that reads as follows: "Once entered, a
44 judgment is good and can be used against you for twenty years, and your
45 money, including a portion of your paycheck and/or bank account, may be
46 taken. Also, a judgment will hurt your credit score and can affect your
47 ability to rent a home, find a job, or take out a loan."
48 § 2. Section one of this act shall apply to all false statements and
49 representations determined on or after the effective date of this act
50 and all forfeited effective days determined prior to such effective date
51 shall remain in full force and effect for two years from the expiration
52 of the initial determination. For purposes of applying such forfeited
53 benefits, each effective day shall be considered twenty-five percent of
54 a claimant's weekly benefit rate.
55 § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
56 have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to subdivi-
A. 542 3
1 sions 1 and 2 of section 594 of the labor law made by section one of
2 this act shall take effect on the same date and the same manner as chap-
3 ter 277 of the laws of 2021 takes effect or 30 days after the commis-
4 sioner of labor certifies that the department of labor has an informa-
5 tion technology system capable of accommodating the amendments in
6 chapter 277 of the laws of 2021, whichever occurs earlier.
