Senate Bill S541A

2023-2024 Legislative Session

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

download bill text pdf

Sponsored By

Current 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

Do you support this bill?

Please enter your contact information

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.
Actions

Bill Amendments

co-Sponsors

2023-S541 - Details

Current Committee:
Senate Labor
Law Section:
Labor Law
Laws Affected:
Add Art 35 §§1020 - 1023, Lab L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2017-2018: S6426
2019-2020: S1848
2021-2022: S12

2023-S541 - 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 affected employee, whistleblower, representative organization or an organizational deputy to initiate a public enforcement action on behalf of the commissioner for certain provisions of the labor law, or any regulation promulgated thereunder.

2023-S541 - Sponsor Memo

2023-S541 - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    541
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 4, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. HOYLMAN, GIANARIS, JACKSON, KENNEDY, KRUEGER, MAYER,
   MYRIE,  RAMOS,  SALAZAR,  SANDERS,  SERRANO  -- 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 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
 systemic violations, will enforce the rights of more  workers,  and  can
 benefit the department of labor with enhanced resources.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02068-01-3
 S. 541                              2
              

co-Sponsors

2023-S541A - Details

Current Committee:
Senate Labor
Law Section:
Labor Law
Laws Affected:
Add Art 35 §§1020 - 1023, Lab L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2017-2018: S6426
2019-2020: S1848
2021-2022: S12

2023-S541A - 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 affected employee, whistleblower, representative organization or an organizational deputy to initiate a public enforcement action on behalf of the commissioner for certain provisions of the labor law, or any regulation promulgated thereunder.

2023-S541A - Sponsor Memo

2023-S541A - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  541--A
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 4, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens. HOYLMAN-SIGAL, CLEARE, GIANARIS, JACKSON, KENNEDY,
   KRUEGER, MAYER, MYRIE, RAMOS, SALAZAR, SANDERS,  SERRANO,  SKOUFIS  --
   read  twice  and  ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
   the Committee on Labor -- 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, labor organiza-
 tions, and labor organizations deputized by the state  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.
 When the New York labor law is effectively  enforced,  it  protects  the
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02068-04-3
              

co-Sponsors

2023-S541B (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:
Senate Labor
Law Section:
Labor Law
Laws Affected:
Add Art 35 §§1020 - 1023, Lab L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2017-2018: S6426
2019-2020: S1848
2021-2022: S12

2023-S541B (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 affected employee, whistleblower, representative organization or an organizational deputy to initiate a public enforcement action on behalf of the commissioner for certain provisions of the labor law, or any regulation promulgated thereunder.

2023-S541B (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S541B (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  541--B
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 4, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  HOYLMAN-SIGAL, BRESLIN, BRISPORT, CLEARE, COMRIE,
   FERNANDEZ, GIANARIS, GONZALEZ, GOUNARDES, HARCKHAM, HINCHEY,  JACKSON,
   KENNEDY,  KRUEGER, MAYER, MYRIE, RAMOS, RYAN, SALAZAR, SANDERS, SERRA-
   NO, SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be
   committed  to  the  Committee  on  Labor -- committee discharged, bill
   amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  commit-
   tee -- recommitted to the Committee on Labor in accordance with Senate
   Rule  6,  sec.  8  --  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, labor organiza-
 tions,  and  labor  organizations deputized by the state 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.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02068-06-4
 S. 541--B                           2
              

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.