We urge the New York State Assembly to Pass S549B/A8928C
We need your help. The New York State Assembly is considering an important bill, S549B/A8928C that addresses New York’s harsh, punishing collection of overpayments of the state’s UI benefits resulting from the state’s mistakes administering benefits and illegal language access barriers. As a result, tens of thousands of working class New Yorkers who were at the epicenter of the pandemic now face thousands of dollars of debt that are poised to plunge them into poverty. This does not need to happen, and S549B/A8928C would provide immense relief and get New York up to par to other states, with little cost to the state.
We encourage you to call NY Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie at 518-455-3791 and Senate President Andrea Stewart-Cousins at 518-455-2585 to urge them to support passage of these critical bills before session ends on Thursday, June 6.
Make the following points in your call:
- I am calling you to urge you to pass S549B/A8928C to address New York’s uniquely punishing and harsh approach to unemployed workers who were at the epicenter of the pandemic.
- While Unemployment is designed to be a critical lifeline for workers, New York State has left tens of thousands of New Yorkers burdened with overpayment debt due to the State’s mistakes and language access barriers – threatening to plunge them into poverty.
- The bill creates a waiver process. The federal government has made clear that it does not want workers to pay back their federal UI overpayments. It also creates a state waiver process, which almost all states already have.
- In addition, this legislation addresses New York State’s uniquely punishing overbroad definition of “fault” and “fraud,” which NYS has used to limit waiving overpayments.
- Key Messaging: We urge you to pass S549B/A8928C to help claimants by creating a process that is fair to New Yorkers by adopting federal waivers, creating state waivers, and narrow the definition of “fault” and “fraud.” New York State was among the hardest hit states by the pandemic, and the State should not punish workers struggling to make ends meet for its own mistakes. S549B/A8928C will provide enormous relief to workers in New York.
