Matter of Clemons (Village of Freeport--Commissioner of Labor)

Appeals from two decisions of the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board, filed July 14, 2015, which ruled, among other things, that claimants were eligible to receive unemployment insurance benefits because they were employed within the meaning of Labor Law § 565 (2) (d).

In October 2012, the Village of Freeport, Nassau County, sustained extensive damage as a result of Hurricane Sandy and was declared a major disaster by federal, state and local governments. Thereafter, the Village (hereinafter the employer) received federal funding to assist it with clean-up and restoration efforts, and, in…