Section 591. Eligibility for benefits

* 1. Unemployment. Benefits, except
  as provided in section five hundred ninety-one-a of this title, shall be
  paid only to a claimant who is totally unemployed and who is  unable  to
  engage  in  his  usual  employment  or  in  any  other  for  which he is
  reasonably  fitted  by  training  and  experience.  A  claimant  who  is
  receiving  benefits under this article shall not be denied such benefits
  pursuant to this subdivision or  to  subdivision  two  of  this  section
  because of such claimant's service on a grand or petit jury of any state
  or of the United States.
    * NB Effective until December 7, 2011
    * 1.  Unemployment.  Benefits  shall be paid only to a claimant who is
  totally unemployed and who is unable to engage in his  usual  employment
  or  in  any  other  for  which  he  is reasonably fitted by training and
  experience. A claimant who is  receiving  benefits  under  this  article
  shall  not  be  denied  such benefits pursuant to this subdivision or to
  subdivision two of this section because of such claimant's service on  a
  grand or petit jury of any state or of the United States.
    * NB Effective December 7, 2011
    * 2.  Availability  and capability. Except as provided in section five
  hundred ninety-one-a of this title, no benefits shall be payable to  any
  claimant  who  is  not  capable of work or who is not ready, willing and
  able to work in his usual employment or in any other  for  which  he  is
  reasonably fitted by training and experience.
    * NB Effective until December 7, 2011
    * 2.  Availability and capability. No benefits shall be payable to any
  claimant who is not capable of work or who is  not  ready,  willing  and
  able  to  work  in  his usual employment or in any other for which he is
  reasonably fitted by training and experience.
    * NB Effective December 7, 2011
    3. Vacation period or holiday.
    (a) No benefits shall be payable to a claimant for any  day  during  a
  paid  vacation  period, or for a paid holiday, nor shall any such day be
  considered a day  of  total  unemployment  under  section  five  hundred
  twenty-two of this article.
    (b) The term "vacation period", as used in this subdivision, means the
  time  designated for vacation purposes in accordance with the collective
  bargaining agreement or the employment contract or by the  employer  and
  the claimant, his union, or his representative. If either the collective
  bargaining  agreement  or  the  employment contract is silent as to such
  time, or if there be no collective bargaining  agreement  or  employment
  contract,  then  the  time so designated in writing and announced to the
  employees in advance by the employer is to be considered  such  vacation
  period.
    (c) A paid vacation period or a paid holiday is a vacation period or a
  holiday  for  which a claimant is given a payment or allowance not later
  than thirty days thereafter, directly by his employer or through a fund,
  trustee, custodian or like medium provided the amount thereof  has  been
  contributed  solely  by  the  employer on behalf of the claimant and the
  amount so contributed by the employer  is  paid  over  in  full  to  the
  claimant  without  any deductions other than those required by law, even
  if such payment or allowance be deemed  to  be  rumuneration  for  prior
  services  rendered  as an accrued contractual right, and irrespective of
  whether the employment has or has not been terminated.
    (d) Any agreement expressed or implied by a claimant or by  his  union
  or  other representative to a plant or department shut down for vacation
  purposes is not of itself to be considered either a withdrawal  by  such
  employee  from  the  labor  market during the time of such vacation shut

  down or to render him unavailable for employment during the time of such
  vacation shut down.
    4.  (a) An unemployed individual shall be eligible to receive benefits
  with respect to  any  week  only  if  such  individual  participates  in
  reemployment services, such as job search assistance services, available
  under any state or federal law, if the individual has been determined to
  be  likely  to  exhaust regular benefits and needs reemployment services
  pursuant to a profiling system established by the  commissioner,  unless
  the commissioner determines that:
    (i) the individual has completed such services; or
    (ii)  there  is  justifiable  cause  for  the  claimant's  failure  to
  participate in such services.
    (b) Such profiling system shall be established pursuant to a  plan  of
  the department which shall include, but not be limited to:
    (i) specification of the profiling methodology, including factors used
  to   determine  a  claimant's  required  participation  in  reemployment
  services and  the  statistical  relationship  of  such  factors  to  the
  exhaustion of benefits by certain claimants;
    (ii)  standards  to be used to insure that all claimants are uniformly
  evaluated against the profiling criteria;
    (iii) a description of criteria to be  used  to  make  assignments  to
  basic reemployment services offered;
    (iv) procedures for notification of the right of appeal and for appeal
  by   a  claimant  of  the  profiling  assessment  and  referral  of  the
  department;
    (v) an evaluation of the extent to  which  reemployment  services  are
  available throughout the state and accessible to claimants;
    (vi)  a  demonstration of efforts by the department to coordinate with
  the local providers offering reemployment services, to avoid duplication
  of services among providers offering similar  reemployment  services  to
  the same participant group;
    (vii)  policies and procedures for referrals to reemployment services,
  including referrals to providers other than the department; and
    (viii) guidelines governing the extent to which education  and  skills
  or occupational training shall be offered.
    (c)  The  department  shall, at a time and in a manner consistent with
  federal requirements, submit a report to the temporary president of  the
  senate  and  the  speaker  of  the  assembly  on  the  profiling  system
  authorized herein except that such report:
    (i) shall be submitted to the temporary president of  the  senate  and
  the  speaker  of  the  assembly  no later than September first, nineteen
  hundred ninety-five and annually thereafter, and
    (ii) shall include data on the number of individuals profiled and  the
  number  of  profiled  individuals  exhausting  benefits  as  well  as  a
  description of the service or services provided to profiled  individuals
  and  the number of individuals referred for reemployment services during
  the program year ending the preceding June thirtieth.
    5. Maximum combined payments. If  a  claimant  is  receiving  benefits
  pursuant   to  subdivision  six  of  section  fifteen  of  the  workers'
  compensation law, the unemployment benefits to which a claimant  may  be
  entitled  pursuant  to  this  article shall be limited to the difference
  between the amount of workers' compensation  benefits  and  one  hundred
  percent of the claimant's average weekly wage.