Bill > S02025

This bill provides a comprehensive framework for waiving unemployment pandemic benefits (UPB) overpayments for individuals who received pandemic-related unemployment assistance during the period from January 27, 2020, through September 6, 2021. The bill establishes multiple pathways for waiving repayments, including blanket waivers, categorical waivers, and individual waivers, with a presumption in favor of claimants. The legislation requires the New York State Department of Labor to proactively review all UPB overpayments and identify eligible claimants for waivers, considering factors such as departmental errors, communication challenges, financial hardship, and the claimant's lack of fault in receiving the benefits. Claimants can be deemed "without fault" in various scenarios, such as receiving conflicting information, facing language or literacy barriers, or relying on incorrect guidance. The bill also mandates that the department provide detailed notifications to claimants about their overpayments, waiver options, and appeal rights, and requires the department to translate these notifications into the ten most commonly spoken languages in New York. Additionally, the bill provides flexible repayment terms, allowing up to ten years to repay overpayments, with the possibility of extending the repayment period if the claimant can make minimal monthly payments, and requires the department to publicly report waiver statistics disaggregated by race, gender, ethnicity, and language.

Labor and Employment

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S2025