Assembly Bill A5876A

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Enacts the Empowering People in Rights Enforcement (EMPIRE) Worker Protection Act

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Assembly 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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Bill Amendments

co-Sponsors

2021-A5876 - Details

See Senate Version of this Bill:
S12
Current Committee:
Assembly Labor
Law Section:
Labor Law
Laws Affected:
Add Art 34 §§960 - 963, Lab L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2017-2018: A7958, S6426
2019-2020: A2265, S1848
2023-2024: A1893, S541

2021-A5876 - Summary

Enacts the "Empowering People in Rights Enforcement (EMPIRE) Worker Protection Act"; relates to the delegation of state enforcement authority to private actors; authorizes an aggrieved employee, whistleblower or representative organization to initiate a public enforcement action on behalf of the commissioner for certain provisions of the labor law, or any regulation promulgated thereunder.

2021-A5876 - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5876
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               March 1, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of A. JOYNER, SIMON, COOK, AUBRY, STECK -- read once
   and referred to the Committee on Labor
 
 AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to enacting  the  "Empowering
   People in Rights Enforcement (EMPIRE) Worker Protection Act"
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
 the  "Empowering People in Rights Enforcement (EMPIRE) Worker Protection
 Act".
   § 2. Legislative findings. 1. The legislature finds and declares  that
 violations of the labor law are often systemic, affecting many workers.
   2.  The  legislature further finds and declares that despite the labor
 law's strong protections for workers,  limits  on  the  availability  of
 public enforcement resources have deleterious effects on the marketplace
 by  allowing abuses targeting workers to persist unprosecuted. To ensure
 the robust enforcement of the labor law, while minimizing the outlay  of
 scarce  state funds, this act allows private individuals to bring public
 enforcement actions in certain contexts in which the state does not have
 the means to fully enforce labor law protections.
   3. The legislature further finds and declares that the purpose of  the
 EMPIRE Worker Protection Act is to create a means of empowering citizens
 as private attorneys general to enforce the New York labor law.
   4.  The legislature further finds and declares that the purpose of the
 EMPIRE Worker Protection  Act  is  to  incentivize  private  parties  to
 recover  civil  penalties for the government that otherwise may not have
 been assessed and collected by overburdened state enforcement  agencies.
 Such representative actions are an efficient mechanism to limit systemic
 violations, will enforce the rights of more workers, and can benefit the
 department of labor with enhanced resources.
   5.  The legislature further finds and declares that the purpose of the
 EMPIRE Worker Protection Act is to benefit those employers who are oper-

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

co-Sponsors

2021-A5876A (ACTIVE) - Details

See Senate Version of this Bill:
S12
Current Committee:
Assembly Labor
Law Section:
Labor Law
Laws Affected:
Add Art 34 §§960 - 963, Lab L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2017-2018: A7958, S6426
2019-2020: A2265, S1848
2023-2024: A1893, S541

2021-A5876A (ACTIVE) - Summary

Enacts the "Empowering People in Rights Enforcement (EMPIRE) Worker Protection Act"; relates to the delegation of state enforcement authority to private actors; authorizes an aggrieved employee, whistleblower or representative organization to initiate a public enforcement action on behalf of the commissioner for certain provisions of the labor law, or any regulation promulgated thereunder.

2021-A5876A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  5876--A
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               March 1, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  JOYNER, SIMON, COOK, AUBRY, STECK, JACOBSON,
   GONZALEZ-ROJAS, J. D. RIVERA, KIM, FERNANDEZ, RAMOS,  DAVILA  --  read
   once  and  referred  to  the  Committee on Labor -- recommitted to the
   Committee on Labor in accordance with  Assembly  Rule  3,  sec.  2  --
   committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
   recommitted to said committee
 
 AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to enacting  the  "Empowering
   People in Rights Enforcement (EMPIRE) Worker Protection Act"
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
 the  "Empowering People in Rights Enforcement (EMPIRE) Worker Protection
 Act".
   § 2. Legislative findings. 1. The legislature finds and declares  that
 violations of the labor law are often systemic, affecting many workers.
   2.  The  legislature further finds and declares that despite the labor
 law's strong protections for workers,  limits  on  the  availability  of
 public enforcement resources have deleterious effects on the marketplace
 by  allowing abuses targeting workers to persist unprosecuted. To ensure
 the robust enforcement of the labor law, while minimizing the outlay  of
 scarce  state funds, this act allows private individuals to bring public
 enforcement actions in certain contexts in which the state does not have
 the means to fully enforce labor law protections.
   3. The legislature further finds and declares that the purpose of  the
 EMPIRE Worker Protection Act is to create a means of empowering citizens
 as private attorneys general to enforce the New York labor law.
   4.  The legislature further finds and declares that the purpose of the
 EMPIRE Worker Protection  Act  is  to  incentivize  private  parties  to
 recover  civil  penalties for the government that otherwise may not have
 been assessed and collected by overburdened state enforcement  agencies.
 Such  public  enforcement  actions  are  an efficient mechanism to limit
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03152-03-2
              

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