September 4, 2014
By Neal Tepel
New York, NY – Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman issued a Labor Day report containing highlights of his office’s labor enforcement work over the past three years. Since Attorney General Schneiderman took office in January 2011, his Labor Bureau has successfully brought cases against employers that cheated their workers out of wages and otherwise violated state labor laws, returning over $17 million in restitution to almost 14,000 workers and recovering more than $2 million in restitution and penalties for the state.
“Vigorously enforcing our labor laws to protect workers’ rights is an essential component of our commitment to enforcing one set of rules for everyone,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “Depriving workers of their wages or other lawful benefits hurts families and communities, and creates an unfair advantage for employers that disregard the laws.”
Actions taken by the Attorney General include: Protecting the rights of fast food and car wash workers; Enforcing the prevailing wage laws, which require a higher rate of pay for construction and maintenance of governmental buildings; Protecting workers who are not covered by traditional labor laws; Combating unlawful employer retaliation against employees who have stood up for their rights.
