New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed Bill A 08106 on December 29, 2014, amending the New York Wage Theft Prevention Act. As shared in our July 1, 2014 CPC blog, the new law eliminates employer’s annual wage notice requirement. Employers, however, are still required to provide wage notice to employees at time of hire.
Other amendments to the New York Wage Theft Prevention Act include increased penalties for those who fail to provide a wage notice to new employees, new requirements for employers that repeatedly violate wage payment provisions or whose violations are willful, and civil penalties for employers with repeated wage violations. Additional amendments include increased investigation period, increased liquidated damages awarded to employees, and the establishment of the Wage Theft Prevention Enforcement Account which will be funded through the financial penalties collected from employers.
These amendments will take effect on February 27th. Employers should review their wage payment procedures to stay compliant.