BILL NUMBER: S2077

SPONSOR: BENJAMIN
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the labor law, in relation to the
payment of the minimum wage to car wash workers

 
PURPOSE:

Requires car wash workers employed in the City of New York are to be
paid the minimum wage without allowance for gratuities.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Section 651 of the labor law is amended by adding a new
subdivision 10 to read as follows:

"Car wash worker" means any employee in a city with a population of one
million or more primarily engaged in the washing, vacuuming or general
cleaning of motor vehicles. "Car wash worker" shall not include volun-
teers engaged in the washing of cars for fund raising or other charita-
ble purpose.
              

§ 2. Section 652 of the labor law is amended by adding a new subdivision
7 to read to follows:

Notwithstanding any provision of this article relating to the inclusion
of an allowance for gratuities in the determination of the minimum wage,
an employee who is a car wash worker in a city with a population of one
million or more shall receive the minimum wage set forth in subdivision
one of this section with no such allowance for gratuities.

 
EXISTING LAW:

Car wash workers are among the "tipped workers" that have a base pay of
less than the minimum wage. Their tipped wage is set under NYS DOL
Miscellaneous Industries wage Order Currently, in the City of New York
the current minimum wage is $10.50/hour for businesses with 10 workers
or less, and $11/hour for 11 workers or more. For car wash workers in
NYC, the tipped minimum wage could be either $7.95 or $8.90 for busi-
nesses 10 or less workers, and $9.35 or $8.30 for businesses of 11 or
more.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Since the minimum wage has been increased and will continue to increase
in NYC to $15 in December of 2018, it is hard to fathom that there are
people out there attempting to survive off less than the state's mini-
mum, in areas where even minimum wage jobs may cause homelessness and
hunger.

These examples from employees of this industry tell the story of why
these individuals who need the protection of law:

Eight workers at the Vegas Auto Spa on Seventh Ave. in Park Slope say
they were paid less than minimum wage - sometimes as little as $4.50 an
hour - and didn't get overtime for working as much as 90 hours a week (
NY Daily News 10/7/14)


"On busy days we wash between 500 and 800 cars," he says. "I used to
work 60 to 84 hours a week, seven days a week, at least 12 hours a day.
When I first started at Hi-Tek in 2008, I made $5 an hour, flat, plus
tips. In 2010, it was raised to $5.50 and in January of this year, it
went up to $5.65. Until January, we never got paid overtime.  We don't
get paid holidays, vacation, or sick days. We rarely get more than a
couple of minutes to eat lunch, have coffee or a snack.  On a good day I
get $30 in tips but most days I get only $10 ( Brooklynrail.org -
09/3/12)

Former Carwasher at Hi-Tek for five years but left this March because he
couldn't make ends meet earning $5.25 an hour with little tips.  (Nycom-
munities.org 06/27/12)

Broadway Bridge Car Wash Some of the workers earned as little as $3.75
an hour when the minimum wage was $6.75 and $4.00 when it was $7.15.
They took home as little as $270 a week and were often forced to share
tips with non-service employees. http://www.crainsnewyork.com/)

Additionally, according to a 2014 report by the Labor Bureau of Attorney
General Schneiderman's office. The Bureau has pursued these wage theft
complaints in the cash wash industry, securing $2,425,000 in restitution
for 1,018 car wash workers and $1,782,493.84 in restitution and penal-
ties for the state. In one egregious case, the car wash owner was
sentenced to jail time.

Cases in the car wash industry include:

A settlement of almost $4 million with the Lage and Magalhaes Car Wash
chains. These chains, which share overlapping ownership, cheated an
estimated 1,000 car wash workers out of their legally owed wages,
underreported employees on state unemployment insurance returns and
failed to carry required workers' compensation insurance for all employ-
ees. Attorney General Schneiderman secured $2.2 million in restitution
for the workers, more than $513,000 for the New York State Department of
Labor's Unemployment Insurance Division, and nearly $1.2 million in
penalties for the New York State Workers' Compensation Board.

Two criminal prosecutions of car wash owners, one in the Bronx and one
in Suffolk County. The Bronx owner was sentenced to jail time and
ordered to pay $150,000 in restitution to workers, $52,493.34 to the New
York State Unemployment Insurance Fund, and $30,000 to the New York
State Workers' Compensation Board. The Long Island car wash owner also
pled guilty and was ordered to pay $75,000 in restitution to his work-
ers.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017-18: S.2664 / A.10612

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have
become law.