Senate Bill S3949

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Requires human service providers that contract with the state to pay their employees a certain minimum wage

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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

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 30, 2025	referred to labor

2025-S3949 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A5018
Current Committee:: Senate Labor
Law Section:: Labor Law
Laws Affected:: Add §224-g, Lab L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: A9538
2023-2024: S4930, A1644, A8932

2025-S3949 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires that all human services contracts between any public entity and a human services provider stipulate that the public entity will pay no less than 150% of the higher of: the otherwise applicable minimum wage in the state or any otherwise applicable wage rule or order and that the necessary amounts have been appropriated to ensure payment of such minimum wage.

2025-S3949 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S3949

SPONSOR: RAMOS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the labor law, in relation to requiring human service
providers that contract with the state to pay their employees a certain
minimum wage

 
PURPOSE:

This bill requires human services providers who contract with the state
to pay their employees 150% of the minimum wage

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

The labor law is amended by adding a new section, 224-g which does the
following: § 224-g. Wage requirements for certain human services workers

1) Provides definitions

2) Establishes a requirement mandating that human services providers

contracting with the State pay their employees 150% of the minimum wage

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Nonprofits provide publicly funded human services under contract with
State agencies but there has never been a requirement or even a well-es-
tablished practice to ensure that contracts keep up with the cost of
providing quality services, resulting in a system that pays only 70
cents on the dollar for direct program expenses. When these contracts
systematically underfund services, they are relying on low-wage workers,
predominantly of color, to fill in those gaps.

Currently, the human services workforce is overwhelmingly female (66%),
with more than two-thirds of the full-time staff are workers of color
(68%), and nearly half (46%) are women of color. They are highly
educated and were lauded as heroes during COVID-19 but are paid only 70%
of the salaries given to their government counterparts.  This has
resulted in human services workers being some of the lowest paid workers
in New York's economy. The relatively low pay at the core human services
sector resulted in nearly 25% of all human services workers qualifying
for food stamps in recent years. The poverty-level wages appear to be
built into how New York State currently contracts for human services and
are a direct result of the decade of disinvestment that was included in
the state budgets that were enacted beginning in 2008. This legislation
seeks to address the impact of the chronically low wage scale upon the
human services workers who provide such essential services.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2023-24: S4930A (Ramos) - Referred to Labor

 
FISCAL IMPACT:

TBD

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately

2025-S3949 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   3949
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 30, 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, in relation to  requiring  human  service
   providers  that  contract  with  the  state  to  pay their employees a
   certain minimum wage

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  The labor law is amended by adding a new section 224-g to
 read as follows:
   § 224-G. WAGE REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN HUMAN SERVICES WORKERS. 1.  FOR
 THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION:
   (A) "HUMAN SERVICES" SHALL MEAN ANY SERVICE PROVIDED TO INDIVIDUALS OR
 GROUPS  OF  INDIVIDUALS,  FOR THE PURPOSE OF IMPROVING OR ENHANCING SUCH
 INDIVIDUALS'  HEALTH  AND/OR  WELFARE,  BY  ADDRESSING  SOCIAL  PROBLEMS
 INCLUDING  BUT  NOT  LIMITED  TO:  DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, TEENAGE PREGNANCY,
 MIGRANT HEALTH PROBLEMS, CHILD ABUSE, NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCIES, SUICIDE,
 HUNGER, UNEMPLOYMENT, LACK OF SUITABLE SHELTER, CRIME, DRUG AND  ALCOHOL
 ABUSE AND POVERTY.
   (B)  "HUMAN  SERVICES  PROVIDER" SHALL MEAN ANY: (I) NOT-FOR-PROFIT OR
 CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION, OR (II) LOCAL AGENCY AS  DEFINED  IN  PARAGRAPH
 (C)  OF  THIS  SUBDIVISION,  THAT (1) CONTRACTS WITH ANY STATE AGENCY OR
 OTHER PUBLIC ENTITY, AS DEFINED IN PARAGRAPH (E) OF THIS SUBDIVISION  TO
 PROVIDE  HUMAN SERVICES AS DEFINED IN PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVISION,
 OR (2) DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY RECEIVES ANY PUBLIC FUNDS  TO  PROVIDE  OR
 CONTRACT WITH THIRD PERSONS TO PROVIDE HUMAN SERVICES FOR THE BENEFIT OF
 THE GENERAL PUBLIC OR SPECIFIC CLIENT GROUPS.
   (C)  "LOCAL  AGENCY"  SHALL INCLUDE ALL COUNTY, CITY, TOWN AND VILLAGE
 GOVERNING BODIES, ALL OTHER PUBLIC CORPORATIONS, SPECIAL  DISTRICTS  AND
 SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN THE STATE.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD08514-01-5
 S. 3949                             2

   (D)  "STATE  AGENCY"  SHALL  INCLUDE  ANY DEPARTMENT, DIVISION, BOARD,
 BUREAU, COMMISSION, OFFICE, AGENCY, AUTHORITY OR PUBLIC  CORPORATION  OF
 THE STATE.
   (E)  "PUBLIC  ENTITY"  SHALL MEAN ANY LOCAL AGENCY AS DEFINED IN PARA-
 GRAPH (C) OF THIS SUBDIVISION AND ANY STATE AGENCY AS DEFINED  IN  PARA-
 GRAPH (D) OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
   2.  EVERY  CONTRACT  FOR  HUMAN SERVICES ENTERED INTO BETWEEN A PUBLIC
 ENTITY AND A HUMAN SERVICES PROVIDER, AND ANY SUCH CONTRACT ENTERED INTO
 BY A THIRD PARTY ACTING IN PLACE OF, ON BEHALF OF AND FOR THE BENEFIT OF
 SUCH PUBLIC ENTITY PURSUANT TO ANY  LEASE,  PERMIT  OR  OTHER  AGREEMENT
 BETWEEN SUCH THIRD PARTY AND THE PUBLIC ENTITY, SHALL STIPULATE THAT:
   (A) THE PUBLIC ENTITY SHALL PAY TO EACH HUMAN SERVICES WORKER FOR EACH
 HOUR WORKED NO LESS THAN ONE HUNDRED FIFTY PERCENT OF THE HIGHER OF: (I)
 THE  OTHERWISE  APPLICABLE MINIMUM WAGE UNDER SECTION SIX HUNDRED FIFTY-
 TWO OF THIS CHAPTER; OR (II) ANY OTHERWISE APPLICABLE WAGE RULE OR ORDER
 UNDER ARTICLE NINETEEN OF THIS CHAPTER; AND
   (B) ADEQUATE FUNDING HAS BEEN APPROPRIATED TO ENSURE  COMPLIANCE  WITH
 THE  MINIMUM WAGE REQUIREMENTS SET FORTH IN PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDI-
 VISION.
   § 2. This act  shall  take  effect  immediately  and  shall  apply  to
 contracts  and  agreements issued, renewed, modified, altered or amended
 on or after such date.

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Senate Bill S3949

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Labor Committee

Actions

2025-S3949 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S3949 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S3949 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S3949 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Jessica Ramos

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Labor Committee

Actions

2025-S3949 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S3949 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S3949 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S3949 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments