It's hard to believe that in this day and age some employers still try to snooker their workers when it comes to payroll issues, especially low-wage earners who can ill afford to lose any amount of their pay. Some employers withhold employees' wages, don't pay overtime and generally don't pay them what they're expected to be paid.
Gov. David Paterson last week signed into law a measure that will ensure workers are paid what they're legally entitled to. It's long overdue to protect New York state workers who have suffered less pay and benefits, who most often don't report violations for fear of getting fired. It takes effect in April.
The law will allow the courts and the Labor Department to force employers to pay back wages plus an equal amount in damages. Also, it expands some existing statutes, including provisions dealing with employer retaliation against workers who file complaints about them.
And it permits third-party complaints and adds threats to the list of illegal retaliatory measures by employers or others. It adds officers of limited-liability companies and partnerships to the list of employers who can be punished.
Further, initial worker notices will be required in writing at the time of hire describing the pay basis, whether hourly, daily, weekly, by piece, commission or salary; allowances such as tips, meals or lodging.
Besides remuneration, violations of the law can result in public notices posted at businesses for 90 days.
Some retail groups say the additional reporting requirements are burdensome, especially to small businesses. Perhaps so, but the underlying issue of a worker's pay trumps the added process to ensure an employee is paid what he or she signed on for.
The National Employment Law Project, in a sampling of New York City low-wage earners, found that 21 percent were paid less than the legally required minimum wage in the previous week. Seventy-seven percent of those who worked more than 40 hours the previous week said they weren't paid proper overtime and 55 percent didn't receive required documentation of their earnings and deductions the previous week.
The group estimated New York City employers shortchange more than 300,000 workers about $18 million weekly. That's not chump change.
The state Labor Department reported recovering and disbursing a record $28.8 million to nearly 18,000 people whose wages were illegally underpaid last year.
And it's not just the Big Apple's problem. The Labor Department found a lot of violations in car washes, restaurants, grocery-store delivery workers. It has also seen violations in manufacturing, especially in low-wage industries.
Workers around the state will soon have the protections of a day's pay for a day's work.
Opinion
December 21, 2010
EDITORIAL: New protections for employees
- Editorial
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Editorial: The real reason for the holiday
Today is for creating new memories. Tomorrow, we should pause to remember. Memorial Day weekend, being the first big holiday of the sun season, is all about barbecues, picnics and outdoor activities; it is all about family and friends. After a North Country winter, even a fairly mild one like we just had, we need to relax in the sun and enjoy the outdoors.
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Editorial: The real reason for the holiday
- Cheers and Jeers
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Cheers and Jeers: May 21, 2012
JEERS to people who don't moderate their language in public; and CHEERS to the Plattsburgh Noon Rotary Club.
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Cheers and Jeers: May 21, 2012
- Letters to the Editor
- Speakout
- In My Opinion
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In My Opinion: Cultural issues need attention
Amid the various issues debated as we approach the next elections, two are important to all individuals here, as in the rest of the country: debates over birth control and over interest owed on student loans, writes Plattsburgh State professor Mark Cohen.
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In My Opinion: Cultural issues need attention
