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New York State Wage Theft Prevention Act

by Michael J. Stacchini, Esq.

New York State amended several key components of its wage and hour law with the implementation of the Wage Theft Prevention Act (WTPA), effective April 9, 2011. In part, the WTPA: (1) greatly expands the notice of wage rate requirements that employers must provide to employees; (2) expands the rights of employees and penalties against employers for retaliating against an employee for taking action against an employee for wage and hour law violations; and (3) significantly increases the penalties for an employer's violation of wage and hour laws.

Notice Provisions

The WTPA requires all private employers to give employees both at the time of hire and on or before February 1st of each year, a detailed written notice regarding the terms of an employee's employment. The written notice requires detailed information such as the employee's rate and manner of pay. In addition, the WTPA requires the employer to obtain from the employee a signed and dated written acknowledgment confirming the employee's receipt of the notice. Also, upon request from an employee, the WTPA requires an employer to furnish a detailed written "wage statement." The wage statement includes detailed information such as an explanation of how an employee's wages are computed and, where applicable, the employee's regular hourly rate of pay, overtime rate of pay, and the number of regular and overtime hours worked by the employee.

The notices, acknowledgments and wage statements must be in both English and in many cases in the employee's primary language. The employer must maintain copies of all payroll records including the notices, acknowledgments and wage statements for a period of six years.

Retaliation

An employer may not retaliate against an employee who either complains or is believed to have complained to its employer, the Department of Labor or the Attorney General about possible violations of the wage and hour law. Any action taken against an employee that negatively effects the terms of an employee's employment such as discharge, suspension, transfer or a reduction in pay and/or hours may constitute retaliation. The WTPA greatly expands the breadth of employee conduct protected against retaliation and the remedies available to employees against an employer for retaliation.

Damages

In addition, the WTPA significantly increases the penalties and damages that may be issued against an employer for wage and hour law violations. For example, under prior law, an employee who prevailed on a claim for unpaid wages was entitled to recover not only wages owed, but also in many cases could recover "liquidated damages" equal to 25% of the total wages found to be due. Under the WTPA, the liquidated damages that an employee may recover for unpaid wages increased to 100% of the total amount of wages found to be due. Because the statute of limitations for wage violations in New York is six years, the increased liquidated damages can be significant.

Given the recent increase in the enforcement efforts by the government with regard to wage and hour violations and the increased number of private lawsuits brought against employers for wage and hour violations, the implications of the WTPA are enormous. Kindly contact an employment litigation attorney at VMM for any further clarification of this new law and to ensure that your current practices comply with New York wage and hour laws. You can reach us at 516-437-4385 or visit us on the web at www.VMMLegal.com.