S 3642: Relates to wage claims for manual workers; establishes an exception is provided from certain legal relief for instances of when payment is made within fourteen calendar days after the end of the week in which the wages were earned.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3642 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 29, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. MURRAY, O'MARA, RHOADS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to wage claims for manual workers The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 1-a of section 198 of the labor law, as amended 2 by chapter 362 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows: 3 1-a. On behalf of any employee paid less than the wage to which [he or 4 she] such employee is entitled under the provisions of this article, the 5 commissioner may bring any legal action necessary, including administra- 6 tive action, to collect such claim and as part of such legal action, in 7 addition to any other remedies and penalties otherwise available under 8 this article, the commissioner shall assess against the employer the 9 full amount of any such underpayment, and an additional amount as liqui- 10 dated damages, unless the employer proves a good faith basis for believ- 11 ing that its underpayment of wages was in compliance with the law, 12 provided, however, that the provisions of this subdivision shall not 13 apply to a violation of paragraph a of subdivision one of section one 14 hundred ninety-one of this article, provided that the employer had made 15 full payment of wages within fourteen calendar days after the end of the 16 week in which the wages were earned, except in instances where an 17 employer was subject to a commissioner's order issued pursuant to 18 section two hundred eighteen of this chapter to comply with section one 19 hundred ninety-one of this article. Liquidated damages shall be calcu- 20 lated by the commissioner as no more than one hundred percent of the 21 total amount of wages found to be due, except such liquidated damages 22 may be up to three hundred percent of the total amount of the wages 23 found to be due for a willful violation of section one hundred ninety- 24 four of this article. In any action instituted in the courts upon a wage 25 claim by an employee or the commissioner in which the employee prevails, EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD07528-01-5 
 S. 3642 2 1 the court shall allow such employee to recover the full amount of any 2 underpayment, all reasonable attorney's fees, prejudgment interest as 3 required under the civil practice law and rules, and, unless the employ- 4 er proves a good faith basis to believe that its underpayment of wages 5 was in compliance with the law, an additional amount as liquidated 6 damages equal to one hundred percent of the total amount of the wages 7 found to be due, except such liquidated damages may be up to three 8 hundred percent of the total amount of the wages found to be due for a 9 willful violation of section one hundred ninety-four of this article. 10 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.