NYS Increases Penalties for Wage Theft

New York State will be increasing penalties for wage theft. The Governor’s proposal would raise criminal penalties for employers  that intentionally commit wage theft violations.

“New York will always stand with workers and we have zero tolerance for unscrupulous employers who try to steal the hard-earned wages of their employees,” Governor Cuomo said. “The State has already recovered millions of dollars for cheated workers, and this proposal will help bolster our efforts to hold accountable any employer who attempts to improperly withhold wages.”

Currently, only employers who commit repeated wage theft can be prosecuted with a felony, and such prosecutions are extremely limited. This legislation will amend the Labor Law to provide criminal penalties for employers who knowingly steal wages. The Department of Labor will continue existing Labor Law enforcement operations, but with the enhanced criminal penalties District Attorneys will be more likely to prosecute wage theft as a crime, and may begin to bring cases of their own, thereby expanding the resources available to combat wage theft throughout the state.

New York State Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said, “The New York State Department of Labor is committed to the protection of workers and thanks to Governor Cuomo’s leadership, we’ll soon be able to take unprecedented action to ensure that workers who have wages stolen get what they’re owed. This legislation helps build New York’s reputation as a national leader in the fight against wage theft.”

New York has seen a dramatic increase in the amount of money returned to workers who were cheated by their employers. In 2018, the New York State Department of Labor collected nearly $35 million and returned that money to approximately 35,000 workers victimized by wage theft and public work violations. Since 2011, DOL has recovered more than $280 million in stolen wages and returned it to 250,000 workers victimized by wage theft and public work violations.