BILL NUMBER: S448B
SPONSOR: HOYLMAN-SIGAL
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the labor law, in relation to enacting the "Empowering
People in Rights Enforcement (EMPIRE) Worker Protection Act"
 
PURPOSE:
This legislation empowers aggrieved workers to file claims on behalf of
the state against an employer for specified violations of State labor
law. The Act also allows representative organizations to file claims on
behalf of impacted workers in order to protect the public interest.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
The legislation adds a new Article 34 to the labor law, which estab-
lishes the right of a public enforcement action through which an
aggrieved employee or a representative organization may commence a civil
action on behalf of the commissioner of labor for the purpose of enforc-
ing any provision of the labor law. Section 961 of Article 33 specifies
that such action may provide for a civil penalty to be collected by the
commissioner and that multiple violations that have affected different
employees may be the subject of such complaint.
Section 961 Subsection 2 (a) authorizes a court to exercise the same
discretion as the commissioner in determining whether to assess a civil
penalty. Subsection 2 (b) establishes a minimum civil penalty of five
hundred dollars per period per violation. Subsection 2 (c) provides that
any aggrieved employee or representative organization which prevails
shall be entitled to reasonable attorney's. fees. Subsection 3 estab-
lishes a schedule for the distribution of any civil penalties recovered.
Subsection 4 prohibits the use of private agreements to limit the right
of employees to pursue a public enforcement action. Section 961
Subsection 5 establishes a six year statute of limitations. Section 961
Subsection 6 establishes that public enforcement actions "belong to the
state" and shall, with some exceptions, preclude subsequent state
enforcement action.
Section 962 Subsection 1 establishes the process for the filing of a
public enforcement action including the requirement for thirty-day writ-
ten notice and the items that must be included in such notice.
Section 962 Subsection 2 authorizes the commissioner to intervene in a
public enforcement action and proceed with any and all claims.
Section 962 Subsection 3 requires that a federal or state court of
competent jurisdiction shall approve any settlement arrived at under
this act. Section 962 Subsection 4 a representative organization may
only initiate an action pursuant to this article if an aggrieved employ-
ee elects such organization in writing using a form approved by the
commissioner. Section 962 Subsection 5 provides representative organiza-
tions and aggrieved employees with the- right to amend A.416 after it
has been filed. Section 962 Subsection 6 authorizes that the notice of
an action shall be construed in a light favorable to the employee or
representative organization.
Section 963 Subsection 1 indicates that this article shall not apply to
the recovery of administrative and civil penalties in connect ion with
the unemployment insurance law. Section 963 Subsection 2 indicates that
this article shall not apply to the recovery of administrative and civil
penalties in connection with the New York State Labor Relations Act.
section 963 Subsection 3 incorporates a severability clause. Section 963
Subsection 4 authorizes this article to be construed in light of its
remedial purposes to expand the enforcement of this chapter. This act
shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it becomes a law.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
An estimated 2.1 million New York workers are victims of wage theft each
year, with a total of more than $3 billion stolen in, wages and bene-
fits. Wage theft costs our State millions of dollars a year in lost
revenue and leaves law-abiding employers at a major competitive disad-
vantage. The New York State Department of Labor lacks the resources
needed to effectively investigate and prosecute wage theft at scale and
is heavily reliant upon uncertain federal funding. As a result, New
York's workers may be increasingly vulnerable to exploitation.
This legislation extends the reach of the state's public enforcement
provisions in order to help ensure that exploitative employers do not
get away with wage theft and other abuses; to help establish a level
playing field on which law abiding employers can afford to compete; to
protect the public interest; and to generate revenue to fund the New
York State Department of Labor's own work. Extending the capacity and
reach of New York's public enforcement strategies is critically impor-
tant in this era for a number of reasons. The public and private
enforcement mechanisms that have played a major role in wage theft and
workers' rights enforcement for decades are being undermined in a number
of ways, including: (a) unscrupulous employers who are using this moment
of fear to intimidate and threaten workers into accepting exploitation;
(b) a lack of sufficient funding for the Department has limited its
capacity to enforce existing provisions of the Labor Law. In addition,
private enforcement is often difficult to undertake in smaller workplac-
es and industries where workers' wage theft claims are small, and in
rural communities where workers face challenges identifying counsel.
The EMPIRE Worker Protection Act enables workers to "step into the
shoes" of the government for the purposes of enforcing the New York
Labor Law, and claims filed under the EMPIRE Worker Protection Act are
public in nature and not subject to private agreements. The EMPIRE Work-
er Protection Act builds upon recent advances in New York's labor
protections, specifically the 2015 Achieve Pay Equity bill, which
amended the law to strengthen the State's protections against pay
discrimination for women. Additionally the EMPIRE Worker Protection Act
is a proven model for strengthening labor law enforcement with Califor-
nia having enacted similar legislation. That legislation has assisted
our nation's largest state in resolving thousands of labor violations
and generated more than $28 million in revenue for the California
Department of Labor since 2013.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
S.541 of 2023-2024 (Hoylman-Sigal): Died in Labor
A.9012 of 2023-2024(Simon): Died in Labor
S.12-A of 2023-2024(Simon): Died in Labor
A.5876-A of 2021-2022 (Joyner): Died in Labor
S.1848-A of 2019-2020 (Hoylman): Died in Labor
A.2265-A of 2019-2020 (Joyner): Died in Labor
S.6426 of 2017-2018 (Hoylman): Died in Labor
A.7958 of 2017-2018 (Joyner): Died in Labor
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Will result in increased revenue for the State.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.