Provides that requirements to report wage information to employees may be waived for employers deemed to pose a lower risk of underpayment of wages, provided that an employee may request a copy of such a notice.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A3090
SPONSOR: Lavine TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the labor law, in relation to annual
reporting of wage information
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: This bill allows the Commissioner of
Labor to waive the annual paperwork requirements of the Wage Theft
Prevention Act (WTPA) for reputable employers, while still ensuring that
any employee who wants to will be able to receive any otherwise-waived
notice.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Bill § 1 amends Labor Law § 195 by adding a
new paragraph (f) to subdivision 1, allowing the Commissioner of Labor
to waive an employer's requirement to provide each employee with an
annual wage rate notice. These waivers are limited to employers or clas-
sifications of employers deemed by the Commissioner to pose a lesser
risk of underpayment of wages, and must include a condition requiring
such employers to provide one such notice, applicable to the current
year, to any employee who submits a written request. No changes are made
to the law's requirements that all employees be provided with wage rate
notices upon hiring or when information changes, and with wage state-
ments on each payday.
Bill § 2 amends Labor Law § 198 to clarify two provisions relating to
potential affirmative defenses under the WTPA. Currently, subdivision
1-b provides for two affirmative defenses (complete and timely payment
of wages and good faith belief) in "...any action or administrative
proceeding to recover damages for violation of paragraph (d) of subdivi-
sion one of section one hundred ninety-five of this article...." Said
paragraph (d) does not relate to any conduct that could result in a
violation - It only provides that an employer may not be penalized for
errors or omissions in the non-English portions of any notice provided
by the Commissioner, The amendment deletes the reference to paragraph
(d) to make clear that the violation in question would be a violation of
subdivision 1 of § 195.
Similarly, subdivision 1-d of § 198 currently provides similar affirma-
tive defenses for violations of subdivision 3 of § 195 relating to
providing wage statements to employees on each payday. However, while
the "complete and timely.payment" defense properly refers to subdivision
3, the "good faith" defense refers to an employer's belief "that it was
not required to provide the employee with statements pursuant to para-
graph (e) of subdivision one of section one hundred ninety-five of this
article". Said paragraph (e) permits the Commissioner to waive or alter
the wage rate notice requirements for temporary help firms. The amend-
ment would correct the reference to pertain to the wage statement
requirements of subdivision 3 of § 195.
EFFECTS OF PRESENT LAW WHICH THIS BILL WOULD ALTER: Labor Law §
195(1)(a) currently requires every employer to provide each employee
with an initial wage rate notice upon hiring, another such notice once
in each subsequent year, written notification of any changes in the
information provided in the last such notice, and a wage statement
setting forth similar information on each payday. This bill would allow
the Commissioner of Labor to waive only the provision of annual "subse-
quent year" wage rate notices, with a condition that, notwithstanding
such waiver, any employee could receive such a notice upon his or her
written request.
Labor Law § 198 currently sets forth affirmative defenses in actions
under the WTPA which refer back to the wrong provisions of § 195 - this
bill would provide the correct references.
JUSTIFICATION: The Wage Theft Prevention Act was enacted in 2010 to
ensure that employees are paid the wages they have earned. It amended
Labor Law § 195 to expand existing requirements for wage rate notices
and wage statements in order to ensure that employers "adequately inform
their employees of their wages and how they are calculated in a language
they can comprehend." However, the across-the-board requirement for
annual wage rate notices to every employee - even if the information has
not changed - creates excessive paperwork and unnecessary costs for many
reputable businesses around the state.
This legislation would authorize the Commissioner of Labor, who is In
the best position to determine the prevalence of wage theft or potential
for underpayment in different firms or sectors, to waive the annual wage
rate notice requirement for employers (or classifications thereof) that
pose a lesser risk of wage theft or underpayment. In addition, it would
empower any employee who wants such notice in any year subsequent to
hiring to receive one upon written request. This change,,along with the
clarifications of certain aspects of the affirmative defenses in Labor
Law § 198, would retain the benefits of the WTPA while significantly
lowering the burden on reputable employers.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:A10063 in 2012
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: None.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediate.
