NY State Senate Bill 2017-S1675

Senate Bill S1675

2017-2018 Legislative Session

Increases civil and criminal penalties for failure to pay wages or to differentiate the rate of pay based on sex

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Labor Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2018	referred to labor
Jan 10, 2017	referred to labor

2017-S1675 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Labor
Law Section:: Labor Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§197 & 198-a, Lab L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2011-2012: S7351
2013-2014: S3497
2015-2016: S517

2017-S1675 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Increases civil and criminal penalties for failure to pay wages or to differentiate the rate of pay based on sex; directs the commissioner of labor to study and report upon wage differential among men and women, and between minorities and non-minorities.

2017-S1675 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S1675

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the labor law, in relation to increasing the fines for
employers not lawfully paying the wages of his or her employees; and
to direct the commissioner of labor to issue a report on wage
differential among men and women and between minorities and
non-minorities

 PURPOSE :

To increase civil and criminal penalties for failures to pay wages or
to differentiate the rate of pay based on sex.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1- Increases the civil penalties under section 197 of the
labor law from $500.00 to $1000.00.

Section 2- Increases the criminal penalties under section 198-a of the
labor law from $500.00 to not more than $20,00 0 to $1,000 to not more
than $25,000 and subsequent violation occurring within 6 years
resulting in felony is now reduce to five years for felony
application.

Section 3- Requires the Commissioner of Labor, in consultation with
the Empire State Development Corporation, Department of Civil Service,
and other state agencies, together with the Business Council and the
New York State AFL-CIO, a statewide women's economic empowerment
organization and any other group or organization the commissioner may
deem appropriate, shall issue a report by May 1, 2016.

Among the issues to be reviewed by the Commissioner shall include, but
not limited to:

-research of the trends in this area in the public and private sector
including labor organizations within the State of New York;
-identify the major issues relating to wage differential within the
public and private sector including cost to the state, local
governmental units and private sector businesses for compliance with
wage differential compliance;
-providing legislative and policy recommendations regarding wage
differential including sanctions and penalties;
-issues concerning the enforcement and adequacy of current state laws
related to such issues, including section 194 of the labor law;
-laws and policies in other states that deal with the wage
differential and wage discrimination and;
-investigation of the relative weight of discrimination and other
factors that may lead to the wage differential.

Section 4- Contains the effective date

 EXISTING LAW :

Currently, civil fine is $500.00 and criminal fine is $500.00

 JUSTIFICATION :

Two comparable worth studies were undertaken in 1985; one in New York
State and one in California. The New York Study was utilized to
propose changing civil service grade levels of many titles.  Many of
the California findings which consisted of literature review and
public testimony were restated in the 2003 Government Accounting
Office (GAO).

There exists a need for an up to date comprehensive review and
examination of this issue.

Nonetheless, increases in the penalties and fines for civil and
criminal violations should not have to await the outcome of any study.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2015-2016: S.517 Referred to Labor
2014: S.3497A Recommit to Labor
2008: S.7521 Passed Senate

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

To be determined.

 LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

To be determined.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.

2017-S1675 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1675
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 10, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  LITTLE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor
 
 AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to increasing the  fines  for
   employers  not  lawfully paying the wages of his or her employees; and
   to direct the commissioner of labor to issue a report on wage  differ-
   ential among men and women and between minorities and non-minorities
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 197 of the labor law, as amended by chapter 564  of
 the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
   §  197.  Civil penalty. Any employer who fails to pay the wages of his
 employees or shall differentiate in rate  of  pay  because  of  sex,  as
 provided  in  this article, shall forfeit to the people of the state the
 sum of [five hundred] ONE THOUSAND dollars for each such failure, to  be
 recovered  by  the commissioner in any legal action necessary, including
 administrative action or a civil action.
   § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 198-a of the labor law,  as  amended  by
 chapter 564 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  Every  employer who does not pay the wages of all of his employees
 in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, and the officers  and
 agents of any corporation, partnership, or limited liability company who
 knowingly  permit  the  corporation,  partnership,  or limited liability
 company to violate this chapter by failing to pay the wages  of  any  of
 its employees in accordance with the provisions thereof, shall be guilty
 of  a  misdemeanor  for  the  first offense and upon conviction therefor
 shall be fined not less than [five hundred] ONE THOUSAND nor  more  than
 [twenty]  TWENTY-FIVE  thousand  dollars or imprisoned for not more than
 one year, and, in the event that any second or subsequent offense occurs
 within [six] FIVE years of the date of conviction for a  prior  offense,
 shall  be  guilty  of a felony for the second or subsequent offense, and
 upon conviction therefor, shall be fined not less  than  [five  hundred]
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD00035-01-7

 S. 1675                             2
 
 ONE  THOUSAND  nor  more  than  [twenty] TWENTY-FIVE thousand dollars or
 imprisoned for not more than one year plus one day, or punished by  both
 such  fine  and  imprisonment, for each such offense. An indictment of a
 person  or corporation operating a steam surface railroad for an offense
 specified in this section may be found and tried in  any  county  within
 the state in which such railroad ran at the time of such offense.
   §  3. The commissioner of labor, in consultation with the empire state
 development corporation, department of civil  service  and  other  state
 agencies, together with the New York state business council and New York
 state AFL-CIO, a statewide women's economic empowerment organization and
 any  other  group  or  organization  that  the commissioner of labor may
 consult with, shall issue or cause to be issued to the governor,  tempo-
 rary president of the senate, speaker of the assembly and the respective
 chair  of  the labor committee in the senate and assembly a report on or
 before May 1, 2018 on issues relating to the wage  differential  between
 men  and women and between minorities and non-minorities in the same job
 and jobs that are dissimilar but that required equivalent composites  of
 skill,  welfare,  responsibility  and  working in the New York state job
 market. Such report shall include, but not be limited to:
   (a) researching the trends in this area  in  the  public  and  private
 sector including labor organizations within the state;
   (b)  identifying the major issues relating to wage differential within
 the public and private sector including cost to the state, local govern-
 mental units and private sector  businesses  for  compliance  with  wage
 differential compliance;
   (c)  providing  legislative  and policy recommendations regarding wage
 differential including sanctions and penalties;
   (d) issues concerning the enforcement and adequacy  of  current  state
 laws related to such issues, including section 194 of the labor law;
   (e)  laws and policies in other states that deal with the wage differ-
 ential and with wage discrimination; and
   (f) investigation of the relative weight of discrimination  and  other
 factors that may lead to the wage differential.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.

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