Provides that the New York labor law shall be construed liberally for the accomplishment of its remedial purposes, regardless of whether similarly-worded provisions of federal laws or regulations have been or continue to be construed otherwise.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10365
IN ASSEMBLY
March 2, 2026
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BRONSON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Labor
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to enacting the "remedial
construction of New York labor law act of 2026"
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "remedial construction of New York labor law act".
3 § 2. Legislative findings and intent. 1. The legislature hereby reaf-
4 firms its longstanding intent and directive that the labor law be
5 construed liberally in favor of workers to accomplish its broad remedial
6 purposes--including but not limited to securing workers' wage floors,
7 ensuring their rights to recover all earned wages and all concomitant
8 liquidated damages and other remedies, protecting workers from retali-
9 ation, securing equal pay for equal work, and defraying the harms of
10 unemployment. These remedial purposes not only protect workers, but also
11 protect law-abiding employers from unfair competition by lawbreaking
12 employers.
13 2. Remedial interpretation includes, with respect to reading
14 exceptions and exemptions to the labor law's requirements of employers,
15 construing all such exceptions and exemptions narrowly in order to maxi-
16 mize deterrence of unlawful conduct and accomplish the labor law's reme-
17 dial purpose.
18 § 3. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 5 to read as
19 follows:
20 § 5. Construction. For all provisions of this chapter and their
21 accompanying regulations that are worded comparably to federal laws or
22 regulations, and all worker-protective provisions of this chapter and
23 their accompanying regulations that have no federal analogue, such
24 provisions shall be construed liberally for the accomplishment of their
25 remedial purposes, regardless of whether similarly-worded provisions of
26 federal laws or regulations have been or continue to be so construed.
27 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10772-03-6
