Empowers the commissioner of labor to issue stop work orders against employers for misclassification of employees as independent contractors or for providing false, incomplete, or misleading information to an insurance company on the number of employees of such employer.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6664
SPONSOR: Bronson TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the labor law, in relation to issuing stop-work orders
for misclassification of employees
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Empowers the commissioner of labor to issue stop work orders against
employers for misclassification of employees as independent contractors
or for providing false, incomplete, or misleading information to an
insurance company on the number of employees of such an employer.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends the labor law by adding new section 45 with 8
subsections on misclassification of employees and stop work orders.
1.1 vests the Commissioner with the power to issue a stop-work order
upon determination that a company has knowingly misclassified their
employees, and outlines the method for such issuance.
1.2 gives the employer 72 hours from receipt of the order to come into
compliance and notify the Commissioner, and details the effect of the
order if the employer fails to comply within the 72-hour grace period.
1.3 provides the employer with the right to contest the stop-work order
' within 10 days of issuance.
1.4 defines the penalties for noncompliance.
1.5 mandates that employees affected by a stop-work order shall be paid
their regular rate while the order is in effect or the first 10 days the
employee would have been scheduled to work, whichever is less.
1.6 outlines the effects of the order & penalties on the successors of a
business entity.
1.7 establishes a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an
employer in any manner discriminates, retaliates, or takes any adverse
action against any employee within 90 days of the employee initiating a
complaint pursuant to this article.
1.8 requires the Commissioner to promulgate rules and regulations as
necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.
Section 2 states the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Both independent contractors and traditional employees play important,
yet different, roles in the workplace and our economy as a whole. As a
result of their differences, employees classified as independent
contractors are not required by law to be paid the minimum wage or over-
time pay. According to the United States Department of Labor (DOL), the
purposeful misclassification of employees as independent contractors is
one of the most serious issues impacting employees, as misclassified
employees are prevented from accessing basic workplace protections, such
as the right to minimum wage.
This legislation will allow for the New York State Department of Labor
to issue a stop work order to an employer found to have knowingly
misclassified employees as independent contractors or provided false,
incomplete, or misleading information to an insurance company on the
number of employees. This will ensure employees are able to access the
protections entitled to them by law.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024: Passed Senate/Referred to Labor
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6664
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 7, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BRONSON, SAYEGH, SHIMSKY, MEEKS, JACOBSON,
GANDOLFO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to issuing stop-work orders
for misclassification of employees
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 45 to read
2 as follows:
3 § 45. Misclassification of employees; stop-work orders. 1. If the
4 commissioner determines, after an investigation pursuant to the
5 provisions of this chapter, that an employer has knowingly misclassified
6 employees as independent contractors or provided false, incomplete, or
7 misleading information to an insurance company on the number of employ-
8 ees of such employer, the commissioner shall notify such employer in
9 writing of their intention to issue a stop-work order. Such notice
10 shall:
11 a. be served in a manner consistent with section three hundred eight
12 of the civil practice law and rules;
13 b. notify such employer of their right to a hearing;
14 c. notify such employer that they shall have seventy-two hours to
15 address the violation or violations before the stop-work order will be
16 issued; and
17 d. state the factual basis upon which the commissioner has based their
18 decision to issue a stop-work order and how such employer shall come
19 into compliance.
20 2. a. After receipt of such notice, the employer shall have seventy-
21 two hours to come into compliance and to notify the commissioner of such
22 compliance. Within seventy-two hours after the employer's opportunity to
23 come into compliance, if the employer has not come into compliance, the
24 commissioner shall issue a stop-work order requiring the cessation of
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04513-01-5
A. 6664 2
1 all business operations of the employer at every site at which the
2 violation occurs.
3 b. A stop-work order shall take effect when served upon the employer
4 or when served at the worksite.
5 c. A stop-work order shall remain in effect until the commissioner
6 issues an order releasing the stop-work order upon finding that the
7 employer has come into compliance and has paid any penalty assessed.
8 3. An employer who is subject to a stop-work order shall have the
9 right to apply to the commissioner, not more than ten days after the
10 order is issued, for a hearing to contest whether the employer committed
11 the violation on which the order was based.
12 4. Failure or refusal to comply with a stop-work order issued by the
13 commissioner shall, in addition to any other penalties authorized by
14 law, result in the assessment of a penalty of not less than one thousand
15 dollars and not more than five thousand dollars for each day the employ-
16 er is found not to be in compliance.
17 5. An employee affected by a stop-work order pursuant to this section
18 shall be paid their regular rate for the period the stop-work order is
19 in place or the first ten days the employee would have been scheduled to
20 work if the stop-work order had not been issued, whichever is less, by
21 the employer that was served the stop-work order.
22 6. Stop-work orders and any additional penalties imposed under this
23 chapter against a corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship shall
24 be effective against any successor entity that has one or more of the
25 same principals or officers as the corporation, partnership or sole
26 proprietorship against which the stop-work order was issued and are
27 engaged in the same or equivalent trade or activity.
28 7. For the purposes of this section, there shall be a rebuttable
29 presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer in any manner
30 discriminates, retaliates, or takes any adverse action against any
31 employee within ninety days of the employee initiating a complaint
32 pursuant to this article.
33 8. The commissioner shall promulgate any rules and regulations neces-
34 sary to carry out the provisions of this section.
35 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
36 it shall have become a law.
