A. Employer Experience Rating
The New York State Department of Labor (DOL) issued an Order dated January 14, 2021 regarding unemployment experience rating charges during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to this Order, the employer account of an employer liable for unemployment contributions shall not be charged for the duration of the claim for benefits paid to a claimant during the COVID-19 pandemic. Such charges are to be made to the general account. The provisions of the Order apply to 100% of benefits attributable to employers liable for contributions and to 50% of benefits attributable to employers liable for payments in lieu of contributions.
The full text of the Order is available here: https://dol.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2021/01/employer-experience-rating-order-final.v2.pdf 
B. Changes to Partial Unemployment
Effective January 18, 2021, New York has implemented a new rule redefining how part-time work impacts unemployment benefits. The old system for partial unemployment counted part-time work in full-day increments. Under the old approach, claimants who worked part-time would lose 25% of their weekly benefits for each day worked, regardless of the number of hours worked on each of those days. Now, the DOL is using an “hours-based” approach. With this new approach, claimants’ benefits will not be reduced for each day they engage in part-time work, but instead will be reduced in increments based on total hours of work for the week. Partial benefits are available as follows:
• 0 – 4 hours of work (equivalent to 0 days worked): 100% of weekly benefit rate
• 4.1 – 10 hours of work (equivalent to 1 day worked): 75% of weekly benefit rate
• 10.1 – 20 hours of work (equivalent to 2 days worked): 50% of weekly benefit rate
• 20.1 – 30 hours of work (equivalent to 3 days worked): 25% of weekly benefit rate
• 30.1+ hours of work (equivalent to 4 days worked): 0% of weekly benefit rate
If a claimant earns more than $504 in any week, no matter how many days they worked, they cannot receive benefits for that week.
More information on partial unemployment benefits is available here: https://dol.ny.gov/unemployment/partial-unemployment-eligibility

The Attorneys at Levene Gouldin & Thompson, LLP are available to provide advice and counsel concerning labor and employment matters.