Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara announced that he helped pass three pieces of legislation that would protect and support small businesses as well as ensure New Yorkers can access the unemployment benefits they need.

“While the increasing speed of vaccine distribution gives us hope for light at the end of the tunnel, the economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic are far from over,” Santabarbara said. “Many New Yorkers are still struggling to find steady employment and small businesses across the state are fighting to keep their doors open amid financial strains. The measures I helped pass today aim to relieve some of these burdens and will help ensure hardworking business owners and workers have access to the aid they need during these trying times.”

The first piece of legislation Santabarbara helped pass would replace the system for determining eligibility for partial unemployment insurance benefits, which is currently based on days worked per week, with a new system based on the applicant’s weekly earnings (A.2355). At a time when the economy is hurting, it’s critical that the state encourage – not disincentivize – working, and this change to our current system will ensure individuals can take on a part-time job without the risk of losing the benefits they need, Santabarbara noted.

To ensure businesses aren’t unfairly penalized for following shutdown orders, Santabarbara also helped pass a measure that would exclude unemployment charges caused by COVID-19 from being used to calculate an employer’s experience rating (A.2001). These experience ratings are used to assess unemployment charges on employers that reflect their past unemployment claims, and due to the recent spike in these claims, businesses were bracing for a massive increase in their unemployment insurance tax rates.

Lastly, Santabarbara helped pass the COVID-19 Emergency Protect Our Small Businesses Act, which provides eviction protections for small businesses with less than 50 employees and a demonstrable financial hardship until May 2, as well as extends foreclosure protections for small businesses with 10 or fewer units (A.3207). The new legislation passed today provides protections to small businesses and their landlords. “Our struggling small businesses deserve to have peace of mind knowing that they can remain in their place of operation as they set out to rebuild during this pandemic,” said Santabarbara.