S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
10365
I N A S S E M B L Y
March 2, 2026
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BRONSON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Labor
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to enacting the "remedial
construction of New York labor law act of 2026"
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 "remedial construction of New York labor law act".
§ 2. Legislative findings and intent. 1. The legislature hereby reaf-
firms its longstanding intent and directive that the labor law be
construed liberally in favor of workers to accomplish its broad remedial
purposes--including but not limited to securing workers' wage floors,
ensuring their rights to recover all earned wages and all concomitant
liquidated damages and other remedies, protecting workers from retali-
ation, securing equal pay for equal work, and defraying the harms of
unemployment. These remedial purposes not only protect workers, but also
protect law-abiding employers from unfair competition by lawbreaking
employers.
2. Remedial interpretation includes, with respect to reading
exceptions and exemptions to the labor law's requirements of employers,
construing all such exceptions and exemptions narrowly in order to maxi-
mize deterrence of unlawful conduct and accomplish the labor law's reme-
dial purpose.
§ 3. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 5 to read as
follows:
§ 5. CONSTRUCTION. FOR ALL PROVISIONS OF THIS CHAPTER AND THEIR
ACCOMPANYING REGULATIONS THAT ARE WORDED COMPARABLY TO FEDERAL LAWS OR
REGULATIONS, AND ALL WORKER-PROTECTIVE PROVISIONS OF THIS CHAPTER AND
THEIR ACCOMPANYING REGULATIONS THAT HAVE NO FEDERAL ANALOGUE, SUCH
PROVISIONS SHALL BE CONSTRUED LIBERALLY FOR THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THEIR
REMEDIAL PURPOSES, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SIMILARLY-WORDED PROVISIONS OF
FEDERAL LAWS OR REGULATIONS HAVE BEEN OR CONTINUE TO BE SO CONSTRUED.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10772-03-6
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.