N.Y. Lab. Law § 593

§ 593. Disqualification for benefits. 1. Voluntary separation;\nseparation for a compelling family reason. (a) No days of total\nunemployment shall be deemed to occur after a claimant's voluntary\nseparation without good cause from employment until he or she has\nsubsequently worked in employment and earned remuneration at least equal\nto ten times his or her weekly benefit rate. In addition to other\ncircumstances that may be found to constitute good cause, including a\ncompelling family reason as set forth in paragraph (b) of this\nsubdivision, voluntary separation from employment shall not in itself\ndisqualify a claimant if circumstances have developed in the course of\nsuch employment that would have justified the claimant in refusing such\nemployment in the first instance under the terms of subdivision two of\nthis section or if the claimant, pursuant to an option provided under a\ncollective bargaining agreement or written employer plan which permits\nwaiver of his or her right to retain the employment when there is a\ntemporary layoff because of lack of work, has elected to be separated\nfor a temporary period and the employer has consented thereto.\n (b) A claimant shall not be disqualified from receiving benefits for\nseparation from employment due to any compelling family reason. For\npurposes of this paragraph, the term "compelling family reason" shall\ninclude, but not be limited to, separations related to any of the\nfollowing:\n (i) domestic violence, verified by reasonable and confidential\ndocumentation which causes the individual reasonably to believe that\nsuch individual's continued employment would jeopardize his or her\nsafety or the safety of any member of his or her immediate family.\n (ii) the illness or disability of a member of the individual's\nimmediate family. For the purposes of this subparagraph:\n (A) The term "illness" means a verified illness which necessitates the\ncare of the ill person for a period of time longer than the employer is\nwilling to grant leave (paid or otherwise).\n (B) The term "disability" means a verified disability which\nnecessitates the care of the disabled person for a period of time longer\nthan the employer is willing to grant leave (paid or otherwise).\n"Disability" encompasses all types of disability, including: (1) mental\nand physical disability; (2) permanent and temporary disabilities; and\n(3) partial and total disabilities.\n (iii) the need for the individual to accompany such individual's\nspouse (A) to a place from which it is impractical for such individual\nto commute and (B) due to a change in location of the spouse's\nemployment.\n (c) A disqualification as provided in this subdivision shall also\napply after a claimant's voluntary separation from employment if such\nvoluntary separation was due to claimant's marriage.\n 2. Refusal of employment. No days of total unemployment shall be\ndeemed to occur beginning with the day on which a claimant, without good\ncause, refuses to accept an offer of employment for which he or she is\nreasonably fitted by training and experience, including employment not\nsubject to this article, until he or she has subsequently worked in\nemployment and earned remuneration at least equal to ten times his or\nher weekly benefit rate. Except that claimants who are not subject to a\nrecall date or who do not obtain employment through a union hiring hall\nand who are still unemployed after receiving ten weeks of benefits shall\nbe required to accept any employment proffered that such claimants are\ncapable of performing, provided that such employment would result in a\nwage not less than eighty percent of such claimant's high calendar\nquarter wages received in the base period and not substantially less\nthan the prevailing wage for similar work in the locality as provided\nfor in paragraph (d) of this subdivision. No refusal to accept\nemployment shall be deemed without good cause nor shall it disqualify\nany claimant otherwise eligible to receive benefits if:\n (a) a refusal to accept employment which would interfere with a\nclaimant's right to join or retain membership in any labor organization\nor otherwise interfere with or violate the terms of a collective\nbargaining agreement shall be with good cause;\n (b) there is a strike, lockout, or other industrial controversy in the\nestablishment in which the employment is offered; or\n (c) the employment is at an unreasonable distance from his residence,\nor travel to and from the place of employment involves expense\nsubstantially greater than that required in his former employment unless\nthe expense be provided for; or\n (d) the wages or compensation or hours or conditions offered are\nsubstantially less favorable to the claimant than those prevailing for\nsimilar work in the locality, or are such as tend to depress wages or\nworking conditions; or\n (e) the claimant is seeking part-time work as provided in subdivision\nfive of section five hundred ninety-six of this title and the offer of\nemployment is not comparable to his or her part-time work as defined in\nsuch subdivision.\n 3. Misconduct. No days of total unemployment shall be deemed to occur\nafter a claimant lost employment through misconduct in connection with\nhis or her employment until he or she has subsequently worked in\nemployment and earned remuneration at least equal to ten times his or\nher weekly benefit rate.\n 4. Criminal acts. No days of total unemployment shall be deemed to\noccur during a period of twelve months after a claimant loses employment\nas a result of an act constituting a felony in connection with such\nemployment, provided the claimant is duly convicted thereof or has\nsigned a statement admitting that he or she has committed such an act.\nDeterminations regarding a benefit claim may be reviewed at any time.\nAny benefits paid to a claimant prior to a determination that the\nclaimant has lost employment as a result of such act shall not be\nconsidered to have been accepted by the claimant in good faith. In\naddition, remuneration paid to the claimant by the affected employer\nprior to the claimant's loss of employment due to such criminal act may\nnot be utilized for the purpose of establishing entitlement to a\nsubsequent, valid original claim. The provisions of this subdivision\nshall apply even if the employment lost as a result of such act is not\nthe claimant's last employment prior to the filing of his or her claim.\n 5. Terms of disqualification. A disqualification pursuant to the\nprovisions of this section shall not be confined to a single benefit\nyear.\n 6. Determinations and hearings. The commissioner shall issue a\ndetermination for any protest that is filed by any base period employer\nwithin the time specified in the notification of potential charges based\non voluntary separations or misconduct. An employer or claimant may\nrequest a hearing of such determination pursuant to section six hundred\ntwenty of this article.\n