HB 7239 Summary

• Raises the taxable wage cap for unemployment insurance contributions from $15,000 to $17,500 per employee per calendar year, effective January 1, 2020, with annual adjustments based on the consumer price index for urban wage earners in the Northeast.

• Increases the minimum weekly unemployment benefit for construction workers from $15 to $40, effective the first Sunday in October 2019, while maintaining the one twenty-sixth calculation of highest quarterly wages.

• Increases the minimum weekly unemployment benefit for non-construction workers from $15 to $40, effective the first Sunday in October 2019, with a maximum benefit rate of 50% of average state wages.

• Freezes maximum unemployment benefit rate increases from October 2019 through October 2022, preventing automatic adjustments during this period.

• Removes the requirement that employees waive statutory or common law claims against employers to receive dismissal payments and severance, making such payments disqualifying only if other unemployment benefits are received.