New York Expands Employer Obligations to Provide Employees with Notice of Eligibility for Unemployment Insurance Benefits

Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law, effective on November 11, 2023, amending Section 590 of the New York Labor Law.

Under the law, employers are obligated to provide notice to employees of their right to file for unemployment benefits upon the following events:

• an employee's permanent or indefinite separation from employment,
• reduction in hours,
• temporary separation, and
• any other interruption of continued employment that results in total or partial unemployment.

Previously, employers were required to provide employees with notice of their eligibility for unemployment insurance only upon an employee's separation from employment (i.e., when an employee quits, was laid off, or discharged).

Now, the law requires an employer to include employees who experienced a reduction in hours or suffered any interruption in employment, which results in total or partial unemployment.

Additionally, the law requires that the employer's notice be given in "writing on a form furnished or approved by the department and shall include:

a) the employer's name and registration number;

b) the address of the employer to which a request for remuneration and employment information with respect to such employee must be directed; and

c) such other information as is required by the commissioner."