S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                 3118--A

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                             March 11, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sens.  HUNTLEY, DIAZ, ESPADA, HASSELL-THOMPSON, ONORATO,
  OPPENHEIMER, PERKINS, SAMPSON -- read twice and ordered  printed,  and
  when  printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor -- recommitted
  to the Committee on Labor in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8  --
  committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
  recommitted to said committee

AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to increasing the  amount  of
  liquidated damages for failure to pay wages as legally required

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1.   Subdivision 1-a of section  198  of  the  labor  law,  as
amended  by chapter 372 of the laws of 2009, is amended and a new subdi-
vision 4 is added to read as follows:
  1-a. On behalf of any employee paid less than the wage to which he  or
she  is  entitled under the provisions of this article, the commissioner
may bring any legal action necessary, including  administrative  action,
to  collect  such claim and as part of such legal action, in addition to
any other remedies and penalties otherwise available under this article,
the commissioner may assess against the employer an additional amount as
liquidated damages equal to twenty-five percent of the total  amount  of
wages found to be due, unless the employer proves a good faith basis for
believing that its underpayment of wages was in compliance with the law;
HOWEVER,  IF  SUCH  UNDERPAYMENT OF WAGES PERSISTED FOR MORE THAN THIRTY
DAYS OR INVOLVED A FAILURE TO PAY THE WAGES OF TEN  OR  MORE  EMPLOYEES,
THE COMMISSIONER MAY ASSESS AGAINST THE EMPLOYER AN ADDITIONAL AMOUNT AS
LIQUIDATED  DAMAGES EQUAL TO TWICE THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF WAGES FOUND TO BE
DUE.  In any action instituted in the courts upon a  wage  claim  by  an
employee  or  the commissioner in which the employee prevails, the court
shall allow such employee reasonable attorney's  fees  and,  unless  the
employer  proves  a good faith basis to believe that its underpayment of
wages was in compliance with the law, an additional amount as liquidated

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD01280-04-0
              

S. 3118--A                          2

damages equal to twenty-five percent of the total amount  of  the  wages
found  to  be  due; HOWEVER, IF SUCH UNDERPAYMENT OF WAGES PERSISTED FOR
MORE THAN THIRTY DAYS OR INVOLVED A FAILURE TO PAY THE WAGES OF  TEN  OR
MORE  EMPLOYEES,  THE COURT SHALL ALLOW SUCH ADDITIONAL AMOUNT AS LIQUI-
DATED DAMAGES EQUAL TO TWICE THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF THE WAGES FOUND  TO  BE
DUE.
  4.  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  OTHER PROVISION OF LAW, AN ACTION TO RECOVER
UPON A LIABILITY IMPOSED BY THIS ARTICLE  MAY  BE  BROUGHT  AS  A  CLASS
ACTION.
  S  2.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
have become a law.