S 4644: Allows employees that refuse a coronavirus vaccine to be eligible for unemployment insurance.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4644 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE February 10, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. WEIK -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to allowing employees that refuse a coronavirus vaccine to be eligible for unemployment insurance The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 591 of the labor law, as amended 2 by section 4 of chapter 305 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as 3 follows: 4 1. Unemployment. Benefits, except as provided in section five hundred 5 ninety-one-a of this title, shall be paid only to a claimant who is 6 totally unemployed or partially unemployed, including unemployment due 7 to such employee's choice not to receive a coronavirus vaccine. A 8 claimant who is receiving benefits under this article shall not be 9 denied such benefits pursuant to this subdivision or to subdivision two 10 of this section because of such claimant's service on a grand or petit 11 jury of any state or of the United States. 12 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 591 of the labor law, as amended by 13 section 5 of chapter 305 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as 14 follows: 15 1. Unemployment. Benefits shall be paid only to a claimant who is 16 totally unemployed or partially unemployed, including unemployment due 17 to such employee's choice not to receive a coronavirus vaccine. A 18 claimant who is receiving benefits under this article shall not be 19 denied such benefits pursuant to this subdivision or to subdivision two 20 of this section because of such claimant's service on a grand or petit 21 jury of any state or of the United States. 22 § 3. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 593 of the labor law, 23 as amended by chapter 277 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as 24 follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD08960-01-5 
 S. 4644 2 1 (a) No weeks of total unemployment or partial unemployment shall be 2 deemed to occur after a claimant's voluntary separation without good 3 cause from employment until he or she such claimant has subsequently 4 worked in employment and earned remuneration at least equal to ten times 5 [his or her] such claimant's weekly benefit rate. In addition to other 6 circumstances that may be found to constitute good cause, including a 7 compelling family reason as set forth in paragraph (b) of this subdivi- 8 sion, or choosing not to receive a coronavirus vaccine as set forth in 9 paragraph (d) of this subdivision, voluntary separation from employment 10 shall not in itself disqualify a claimant if circumstances have devel- 11 oped in the course of such employment that would have justified the 12 claimant in refusing such employment in the first instance under the 13 terms of subdivision two of this section or if the claimant, pursuant to 14 an option provided under a collective bargaining agreement or written 15 employer plan which permits waiver of [his or her] such claimant's right 16 to retain the employment when there is a temporary layoff because of 17 lack of work, has elected to be separated for a temporary period and the 18 employer has consented thereto. 19 § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 593 of the labor law is amended by 20 adding a new paragraph (d) to read as follows: 21 (d) A claimant shall not be disqualified from receiving benefits for 22 separation from employment due to choosing not to receive a coronavirus 23 vaccine, which shall include, but not be limited to, choosing not to 24 receive a mandatory coronavirus vaccination pursuant to (i) an order, 25 executive order, directive, regulation, policy or other similar measure 26 mandated by the department of health that healthcare employees be vacci- 27 nated by September twenty-seventh, two thousand twenty-one; or (ii) any 28 policy issued by an employer to its employees that mandates the employee 29 receive the coronavirus vaccine by a date certain or be terminated. 30 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 31 the amendments to subdivision 1 of section 591 of the labor law made by 32 section one of this act shall be subject to the expiration and reversion 33 of such subdivision pursuant to section 10 of chapter 413 of the laws of 34 2003, as amended, when upon such date the provisions of section two of 35 this act shall take effect.