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COVID 19 Resources: UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE

Know Your Rights – Unemployment Insurance and Paid Leave

As of May 18, 2020

Have you been laid off or are otherwise unable to work as a result of the COVID-19 crisis?

If you have lost your job as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, there is aid available to you under both federal and state law programs.

Unemployment Insurance:

  • Unemployment insurance is a joint state-federal program that provides cash benefits to eligible workers. Each state administers a separate unemployment insurance program, but all states follow the same guidelines established by federal law. You must apply through your state to see if you are eligible to start receiving benefits.
  • On March 27, 2020 federal legislation was signed to provide additional Unemployment Insurance ("UI") assistance to workers impacted by COVID-19.
    • This new law provides:
      • extended eligibility for individuals who have traditionally been ineligible for UI benefits (e.g., self-employed workers, independent contractors),
      • an additional $600 per week, on top of regular benefits, to all UI recipients and
      • an additional 13 weeks of UI benefits, beyond the regular 26 weeks already provided, for a total of 39 weeks of coverage.
    • You do not need to separately apply for these additional benefits. They will automatically be included when you apply for UI benefits through your state during the COVID-19 crisis.
  • In New York State, if you have been laid off or had good cause to quit your job, or meet other eligibility criteria, you can apply for unemployment insurance online through the New York Department of Labor. If you have never filed a claim for benefits in New York State, you must create a PIN. This is a four-digit number that will be used to access the system to certify for weekly benefits and update your account. Your PIN must be kept confidential.
  • If you are filing a new unemployment insurance claim, the day you should apply is based on the first letter of your last name.
    • A-F file on Monday
    • G-N file on Tuesday
    • O-Z file on Wednesday
  • Additional information and the website to apply is provided below.
  • New Yorkers who have already filed partial claims under the old UI system and were told to call the call center to finish their application should instead receive a call from the New York Department of Labor call center. To view the status of a claim, sign in to your account. If you do not receive a call back, contact information for the call center is provided below.
  • Once you have filed a claim for benefits, you must also claim weekly benefits for each week you are unemployed and meet the eligibility requirements. You can start certifying as soon as you receive a notification from the New York Department of Labor by signing in to your account. You must continue to receive benefits.
  • Additional information on federal and state unemployment programs is provided below.

Paid Leave:

  • Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which requires certain employers to provide employees with paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19.
  • The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division administers and enforces this new law, which will be in effect through December 31, 2020.
  • Employers with fewer than 500 employees are subject to the following regulations:
    • The Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act requires that covered employers provide all of their employees with two weeks of paid sick leave to the extent that the employees are unable to work (or telework) because of a need to take leave for the following reasons:
      • The employee is subject to a government quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19 or the employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19 (or the employee is caring for an individual under such an order or advice).
      • The employee is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis.
      • The employee is caring for their child if the school of place of care of their child has been closed, or the child care provider of that child is unavailable due to COVID-19 precautions.
      • The employee is experiencing any other "substantially similar condition" specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Labor.
    • The Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act ("FMLA") requires employers to provide for partial pay during leave for employees who need to miss work to care for a dependent (persons under 18 or otherwise incapable of self-care due to a physical or mental disability) whose school is closed, or whose care provider is unavailable because of COVID-19 related reasons.
      • This rule only protects employees who have been employed with a covered employer for at least 30 calendar days before commencing leave.
      • For purposes of COVID-19-related FMLA leave, eligibility extends to employees who were laid off by an employer on or after March 1, 2020 and later rehired by the employer, if they had worked for that employer for at least 30 of the last 60 calendar days prior to the employee's layoff.
      • A qualifying employer must pay eligible employees at two-thirds of the employee's regular rate for weeks 3 through 12 of their FMLA leave.
        • The first two weeks of FMLA leave overlap with the two weeks of mandated emergency paid sick leave described above, and employees may use any other available paid leave during this time.
      • The paid FMLA leave is capped at $200 per day and $10,000 total.
      • An employee with an actual illness related to COVID-19 cannot make an independent claim for paid FMLA leave -- this employee would be limited to the two-week emergency leave described above.
        • An employee who receives the two-week emergency leave for childcare reasons and subsequently becomes ill related to COVID-19 would not be able to take paid emergency leave again. This employee would need to look to other paid leave that may be available under the employer's policies or state law.
    • Under both the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and the expanded FMLA, there is an exception providing that employers may exclude employees who are health care providers or emergency responders from taking paid leave.
  • New York State has also passed a law, effective March 18, 2020, that requires some employers to provide at least five and up to 14 days of job-protected paid sick leave to employees who need to take leave because they or their minor dependent child are under a mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine or isolation due to COVID-19. The amount of paid sick leave an employer is required to provide depends on the number of employees they have and the employer's net annual income. Additional information is provided below.
    • Employees who are physically able to work remotely or through other means while under a mandatory quarantine or isolation are not eligible to take COVID-19-related sick leave under this law if they are deemed asymptomatic or have not yet been diagnosed with a medical condition.
    • COVID-19-related sick leave under the law is in addition to an employee's accrued sick leave provided by the employer's policy, unless the employee is subject to quarantine or isolation as a result of non-business travel to certain countries is identified by the CDC. This includes most European countries, Iran and China.
  • New York City also has its own Earned Safe and Sick Time Act, under which an employee may be eligible to earn up to 40 hours of paid sick time.
    • To be eligible, an employee must work for a business with 5 or more employees within the boundaries of New York City for more than 80 hours a year.
    • Under this Act, an employee can be paid up to 40 hours at their regular hourly rate, but at no less than the current minimum wage.
    • An employee will earn 1 hour for every 30 hours worked beginning April 1, 2014 or the first day of employment, whichever is later.
    • The employer cannot retaliate against the employee for requesting or using safe and sick leave. Additional information is provided below.

What resources are available to me?

New York State Resources

New York Department of Labor

Unemployment Insurance:

Paid Leave:

New York City Resources

New York City Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA)

Federal Resources

U.S. Department of Labor

Unemployment Insurance: As indicated above, you must apply for unemployment with your state. The federal government's Department of Labor website has resources available to help you understand and apply for your state's unemployment programs. Please visit: https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/unemployment-insurance.

Paid leave: For more information on the federal FFRCA employee paid leave rights, please visit: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-employee-paid-leave.

Non-Governmental Organizations

Empire Justice

Empire Justice has resources available on both New York State unemployment insurance and federal state paid leave programs. Please visit the below websites for additional information: https://empirejustice.org/resources_post/covid-19-faq-nys-unemployment-insurance/ and https://empirejustice.org/resources_post/covid-19-faq-federal-nys-paid-leave/.

A Better Balance (ABB)

ABB provides information and advice to workers about sick leave, family leave, discrimination and other workplace issues related to pregnancy and family care. Call ABB's free and confidential legal hotline at 833-NEED-ABB (833-633-3222) or visit https://www.abetterbalance.org/get-help/ for help.

For additional information on New York City's Earned Safe and Sick Time Act, please visit: https://www.abetterbalance.org/resources/frequently-asked-questions-new-york-city-earned-sick-time-act/.

Gender Equality 

The Gender Equality Law Center ("GELC") is temporarily expanding its services to help all low-wage workers impacted by COVID-19. For more information, please visit https://www.genderequalitylaw.org/covid-19-resources. GELC attorneys are available to help you with any of the following issues:

  • Understanding your rights to job benefits if impacted by COVID-19
  • Help with applying for benefits
  • Help if your employer or the government does not provide benefits
  • Retaliation by your employer for requesting benefits, including job termination
  • Discrimination claims under cover of your employer making economic decisions

Please call 1-888-833-4363 or email: help@genderequality.org.

What resources are available to me if I am an undocumented immigrant?

Various non-profit organizations are raising funds for immigrants and workers who have lost income or employment due to COVID-19. The following organizations have funds available to immigrants with and without discrimination, depending on eligibility criteria.

RAISE NYC

RAISE NYC is raising funds to support undocumented workers in the service industry who are not eligible to apply for unemployment benefits. The fund will be distributed to undocumented restaurant workers in Brooklyn and Manhattan. For more information, visit https://raise-nyc.squarespace.com/about or email undocumentedworkersfund@gmail.com to apply.

National Domestic Workers' Alliance ("NDWA")

NDWA has created an emergency fund which provides $400 in emergency assistance for qualifying home care workers, nannies, and house cleaners who are experiencing financial hardship due to the coronavirus pandemic. The fund is currently only available to domestic workers who have participated in NDWA programs or affiliate organizations but could expand based on available funding. For more information, please visit: https://domesticworkers.org/coronavirus-care-fund# and https://membership.domesticworkers.org/coronavirus/.

The Restaurant Worker Community Foundation

The Restaurant Worker Community Foundation is raising funds for individual affected restaurant workers. If you are a restaurant worker who has been laid off and are seeking direct assistance, please apply here: https://form.southernsmoke.org/smoke/application/. Additional information is available at: https://www.restaurantworkerscf.org/.

Another Round Another Rally

Another Round Another Rally is offering $500 relief funds for hospitality industry workers.  For additional information, please visit: https://anotherroundanotherrally.org/?fbclid=IwAR2NYl5YUCDvpIjCYRjxzvxaoMrYOLW3DWANoQKDJEKZT-yFf6x2OsCXias.

UndocuScholars

UndocuScholars is providing emergency funds for undocumented immigrants who have been impacted by COVID-19. To apply, please visit: https://www.undocuscholars.com/covid19 or call 360-524-3664.

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Please read: The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. Instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Due to the rapidly evolving nature of the COVID-19 crisis, readers are advised to check official government sources for the most up-to-date information on changes in policy and procedure since the information on this website may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. This website contains links to other third-party websites. Such links are only for the convenience of the reader and the contents of any third-party sites are not an endorsement by AABANY or its members.