Thank you to those who were able to join our calls last Friday. We wanted to send you information on some of the questions that were asked during the calls. While the Senate legislation isn’t finalized, once we know more we will share that information with you as well.

Unemployment Insurance

• The U.S. Department of Labor’s guidance on unemployment insurance provides significant flexibility for states to amend their laws to provide UI benefits in multiple scenarios related to COVID-19. For example, federal law allows states to pay benefits where: 
  • An employer temporarily ceases operations due to COVID-19, preventing employees from coming to work; 
  • An individual is quarantined with the expectation of returning to work after the quarantine is over; and 
  • An individual leaves employment due to a risk of exposure or infection or to care for a family member. In addition, federal law does not require an employee to quit in order to receive benefits due to the impact of COVID-19.
• Extension of benefits:
  • Laid-off workers are allowed to receive regular unemployment benefits for as long as 26 weeks in New York.
  • After exhausting those benefits, individuals in states with rising unemployment can qualify for an additional 13 weeks of benefits through the Extended Benefits program. New York state has not yet qualified for these Extended Benefits, but will post the information online once it is available.
• Eligible employees: Currently, the self-employed and independent contractors are not eligible for unemployment benefits. However, discussions are currently happening in Congress to temporarily expand benefits to these individuals.
• Resources:
  • DOL press release 
  • Covid-19 dedicated DOL webpage
  • Unemployment Benefits Finder
  • New York Unemployment Benefits Filing Instructions

Paid Sick and Family Leave

• Both the federal government and New York state are requiring certain employers to provide paid sick and family leave to their employees.
• The question was raised regarding how the federal tax credit will interact with the state requirements
  • Answer: to the extent that the two requirements overlap, the federal tax credit will cover the costs imposed by the state requirements. However, where the state requirements go beyond the federal requirements (whether in time of leave of wage amount covered), the federal tax credit will not cover those expenses.

Essential Businesses

• Governor Cuomo announced an executive order implanting a policy that all non-essential businesses statewide must close in-office personnel functions effective at 8PM on Sunday, March 22.
• Guidance from New York state regarding “essential businesses” can be found here.

“Phase 3” Update

• The White House, House of Representatives, and the Senate are currently in discussions to finalize a third piece of legislation to provide additional relief and resources to individuals, businesses, and state and local governments. These discussions are very fluid, and we will be sure to provide additional information as soon as we can.

Thank you for all you are doing in our communities.