Senate Bill S167

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    167
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  RAMOS  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor
 
 AN ACT to amend the labor law and the alcoholic beverage control law, in
   relation to suspending certain liquor licenses of employers who are in
   violation of certain provisions of the labor law
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision 1 of section 219 of the labor law, as amended
 by chapter 564 of the laws of 2010, the  opening  paragraph  as  further
 amended  by  section 104 of part A of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011, is
 amended to read as follows:
   1. (A) (I) If the commissioner determines that an employer has  failed
 to  pay wages, benefits or wage supplements required pursuant to article
 six (payment of wages), article nineteen (minimum wage act)  or  article
 nineteen-A  (minimum  wage  standards and protective labor practices for
 farm workers) of this chapter, or a rule or regulation promulgated ther-
 eunder, the commissioner shall issue to the employer an order  directing
 compliance  therewith,  which  shall describe particularly the nature of
 the alleged violation. A copy of such order shall  be  provided  to  any
 employee  who  has filed a complaint and to [his or her] SUCH EMPLOYEE'S
 authorized representative. Such order shall direct payment of  wages  or
 supplements  found  to  be  due, liquidated damages in the amount of one
 hundred percent of unpaid wages, and interest at the  rate  of  interest
 then in effect as prescribed by the superintendent of financial services
 pursuant  to  section  fourteen-a  of the banking law per annum from the
 date of the underpayment to the date of the payment.
   (II) At the discretion of the  commissioner,  the  commissioner  shall
 have  full  authority  to  provide for inclusion of an automatic fifteen
 percent additional amount of damages to come due and owing upon  expira-
 tion  of ninety days from an order to comply becoming final. The commis-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD00687-01-5
 S. 167                              2
 
 sioner shall provide written notice to the  employer  in  the  order  to
 comply of this additional damage.
   (B)(I)  IF THE COMMISSIONER DETERMINES THE EMPLOYER IS IN VIOLATION OF
 ARTICLE SIX (PAYMENT OF WAGES), ARTICLE  NINETEEN  (MINIMUM  WAGE  ACT),
 ARTICLE  NINETEEN-A  (MINIMUM  WAGE STANDARDS AND PROTECTIVE LABOR PRAC-
 TICES FOR FARM WORKERS),  SECTION  TWO  HUNDRED  TWELVE-A,  SECTION  TWO
 HUNDRED  TWELVE-B,  SECTION ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-ONE OR SECTION ONE HUNDRED
 SIXTY-TWO OF THIS CHAPTER, OR A RULE OR  REGULATION  PROMULGATED  THERE-
 UNDER,  AND  SUCH  AGGREGATE  AMOUNT  EXCEEDS  ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS, THE
 COMMISSIONER SHALL NOTIFY THE EMPLOYER OF SUCH  VIOLATION,  IN  WRITING,
 AND  SUCH EMPLOYER SHALL HAVE FIFTEEN DAYS TO ADDRESS ALL VIOLATIONS. IF
 THE EMPLOYER  DOES  NOT  ADDRESS  ALL  VIOLATIONS  WITHIN  THE  ALLOTTED
 FIFTEEN-DAY PERIOD, THE COMMISSIONER SHALL NOTIFY THE CHAIR OF THE STATE
 LIQUOR  AUTHORITY,  IN  WRITING, OF THE NAME AND ADDRESS OF ANY EMPLOYER
 HOLDING A LICENSE PURSUANT TO SECTION SIXTY-FOUR OF THE ALCOHOLIC BEVER-
 AGE CONTROL LAW AUTHORIZING THE SALE OF LIQUOR AT RETAIL FOR CONSUMPTION
 ON THE PREMISES TO SUSPEND SUCH LICENSE.
   (II) THE CHAIRPERSON OF  THE  STATE  LIQUOR  AUTHORITY  SHALL  ACT  IN
 ACCORDANCE  WITH  SECTIONS ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEEN AND ONE HUNDRED NINETEEN
 OF THE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE  CONTROL  LAW;  PROVIDED,  HOWEVER,  THAT  THE
 CHAIRPERSON SHALL NOT REINSTATE A LICENSE SUSPENDED PURSUANT TO SUBPARA-
 GRAPH (I) OF THIS PARAGRAPH UNTIL THE CHAIR RECEIVES WRITTEN NOTICE FROM
 THE  COMMISSIONER  THAT  THE  EMPLOYER WHOSE LICENSE WAS SUSPENDED IS IN
 COMPLIANCE WITH ARTICLE SIX (PAYMENT OF WAGES), ARTICLE NINETEEN  (MINI-
 MUM WAGE ACT), ARTICLE NINETEEN-A (MINIMUM WAGE STANDARDS AND PROTECTIVE
 LABOR PRACTICES FOR FARM WORKERS), SECTION TWO HUNDRED TWELVE-A, SECTION
 TWO  HUNDRED  TWELVE-B,  SECTION  ONE  HUNDRED  SIXTY-ONE OR SECTION ONE
 HUNDRED SIXTY-TWO OF THIS CHAPTER, AND ANY RULE OR REGULATION PROMULGAT-
 ED THEREUNDER.
   § 2. Section 119 of the alcoholic beverage control law is  amended  by
 adding a new subdivision 6 to read as follows:
   6.  WHERE  A  LICENSEE  IS  FOUND  TO BE IN VIOLATION OF ARTICLE   SIX
 (PAYMENT OF WAGES), ARTICLE NINETEEN (MINIMUM WAGE ACT),  ARTICLE  NINE-
 TEEN-A  (MINIMUM  WAGE STANDARDS AND PROTECTIVE LABOR PRACTICES FOR FARM
 WORKERS),  SECTION  TWO  HUNDRED TWELVE-A, SECTION TWO HUNDRED TWELVE-B,
 SECTION ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-ONE OR SECTION  ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-TWO  OF  THE
 LABOR LAW, OR ANY RULE OR REGULATION PROMULGATED  THEREUNDER,  AND  SUCH
 AGGREGATE  AMOUNT  EXCEEDS  ONE  THOUSAND  DOLLARS, AS DETERMINED BY THE
 DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND THE CHAIR OF THE AUTHORITY IS NOTIFIED  OF  SUCH
 VIOLATIONS,  THE AUTHORITY SHALL SUSPEND SUCH LICENSE IN ACCORDANCE WITH
 THIS SECTION AND THE  PROVISIONS  OF  SUBDIVISION  ONE  OF  SECTION  TWO
 HUNDRED NINETEEN OF THE LABOR LAW.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.