Last week, Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation amending the New York Penal Law in order to allow prosecutors to seek stronger criminal penalties against employers who steal wages from workers. Specifically, employers who are found to have engaged in wage theft are now subject to criminal prosecution for committing the criminal offense of larceny. This follows Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg’s February 16, 2023 announcement that his office had partnered with the New York State Department of Labor and local law enforcement to create the Worker Protection Unit, which will focus on pursuing criminal charges against employers that deprive their workers of wages.
According to Cornell University’s Worker Institute, wage theft in New York accounts for nearly $1 billion in lost wages every year, affecting tens of thousands of workers. The bill’s sponsor noted that wage theft permeates all employment areas but has an extremely serious impact on the state’s most vulnerable populations, including undocumented immigrants and low-income workers. The bill also notes that wage theft is pervasive within New York’s construction industry, which necessarily means that this industry will be a focal point for the government.
Under New York criminal law, larceny includes a wrongful taking, obtaining, or withholding of another’s property, which can be committed in a number of ways. This recent amendment adds “wage theft” as one of the enumerated methods by which larceny can be committed. For purposes of criminal prosecution, “wage theft” occurs when an employer agrees to hire a person to perform services, the person performs such services, and the employer withholds such wages from said person. Notably, the law now allows aggregation of victims into a single workforce in larceny cases where the property stolen is wages, which is significant because all larceny offenses involving at least $1,000 are felonies under New York law.
If there was ever a time for employers to review their compensation practices and ensure they comply with the New York Labor Law, it is now.
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