Repeals burdensome, costly mandate passed in 2010
The New York State Senate has passed legislation, Senate Bill No. S6360A, aimed at lowering the cost of doing business in New York State by repealing a burdensome mandate requiring employers to provide annual written notice of wages to all employees.
Senator Ranzenhofer voted for the proposal.
“Given that employers are already required to notify employees of their wage on a regular basis in their paychecks and at the end of the year with a W-2 statement, this additional annual notice has no practical purpose other than to increase the costs of operating a business in New York State,” said Ranzenhofer. “While the private sector is focused on growing businesses and creating jobs, this mandate serves as a distraction, forcing companies to spend more time and effort pushing paper around. The legislative aim of the State Senate should be to propose policies to enhance the ability of businesses to grow and hire more workers, and the bill’s passage in the State Senate is the first step towards that end.”
Passed in 2010, the Wage Theft Prevention Act included a provision to require all private sector employers to provide an annual written notice on wages to employees. There are seven different forms depending on the type of pay (hourly, salary, etc.). The form must be written in the primary language of each employee. A written acknowledgement of the receipt of the notice must be obtained from the employee and maintained for six years. The penalty for businesses failing to comply with the law is $50 per employee.
According to one employee benefit firm, with 7.3 million employees in New York State, more than 51 million pages of paper are need to comply with this law, or about 600 trees.
The Business Council of New York State, National Federation of Independent Business and Unshackle Upstate has joined the State Senate in support of the proposal.
The legislation passed the State Senate on Wednesday by a 34-24 vote. The bill has been sent to the State Assembly. Assemblyman Gabryszak is the sponsor of the legislation in the Assembly.
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