| Matter of Restrepo (Commissioner of Labor) |
| 2023 NY Slip Op 03891 [218 AD3d 975] |
| July 20, 2023 |
| Appellate Division, Third Department |
| Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. |
| In the Matter of the Claim of Andres Restrepo, Appellant. Commissioner of Labor, Respondent. |
Andres Restrepo, Brooklyn, appellant pro se.
Letitia James, Attorney General, New York City (Mary Hughes of counsel), for respondent.
Aarons, J. Appeal from a decision of the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board, filed September 23, 2021, which ruled, among other things, that claimant was ineligible to receive unemployment insurance benefits because he was unable to file a valid original claim.
Claimant, a seasonal employee, filed a claim for unemployment insurance benefits, effective February 17, 2020, that was denied upon the ground that he did not have sufficient earnings in either his base period or alternate base period to file a valid original claim. In September 2020, the Department of Labor issued a second determination finding claimant eligible to receive pandemic unemployment assistance, effective February 24, 2020, at a specified weekly rate pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act) (see 15 USC § 9021). Claimant contested the determinations that he was ineligible for unemployment insurance benefits and the weekly rate of pandemic unemployment assistance that he was found eligible for, and, following a hearing, an Administrative Law Judge sustained the Department's determinations. Upon administrative appeal, the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board affirmed, prompting this appeal.[FN*]
We affirm. "Labor Law § 527 (1) and (2) set forth the requirements for
filing a valid original claim for unemployment insurance benefits under either the basic
condition or the alternate condition" (Matter of Best [Commissioner of Labor], 172 AD3d 1845,
1845 [3d Dept 2019] [internal quotation marks, brackets and citations omitted]). Both
conditions require a claimant to receive a specified amount of remuneration from
employment during at least two calendar quarters within the applicable base period
(see Labor Law § 527 [1], [2]) and require a claimant to receive
remuneration of 1
Claimant's base period under the basic condition covered the fourth quarter of 2018
and the first, second and third quarters of 2019 (October 1, 2018 through September 30,
2019) (see Labor Law § 520 [1]). Claimant's base period under the
alternate condition covered the first, second, third and fourth quarters of 2019 (January 1,
2019 through December 31, 2019) (see Labor Law § 520 [2]). The
record establishes that claimant earned, as relevant here, wages of[*2]$4,045.59 during the third quarter of 2019 and $8,171.21
during the fourth quarter of 2019. As such, claimant did not work and earn wages during
at least two calendar quarters within the base period and, therefore, could not satisfy the
basic condition. Claimant also could not satisfy the basic condition because he did not
earn total remuneration during the base period that was 1
Egan Jr., J.P., Ceresia, Fisher and McShan, JJ., concur. Ordered that the decision is affirmed, without costs.