NY State Senate Bill 2025-S1514

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Labor Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 10, 2025	referred to labor

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2025-S1514 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Labor
Law Section:: Labor Law
Laws Affected:: Add §45, Lab L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S7886

2025-S1514 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Empowers the commissioner of labor to issue stop-work orders against employers for misclassification of employees as independent contractors or for providing false, incomplete, or misleading information to an insurance company on the number of employees of such employer.

2025-S1514 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S1514

SPONSOR: HARCKHAM
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the labor law, in relation to issuing stop-work orders
for misclassification of employees

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

Empowers the commissioner of labor to issue stop work orders against
employers for misclassification of employees as independent contractors
or for providing false, incomplete, or misleading information to an
insurance company on the number of employees of such an employer.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends the labor law by adding new section 45 with 8
subsections on misclassification of employees and stop work orders.

1.1 vests the Commissioner with the power to issue a stop-work order
upon determination that a company has knowingly misclassified their

employees, and outlines the method for such issuance.

1.2 gives the employer 72 hours from receipt of the order to come into
compliance and notify the Commissioner, and details the effect of the
order if the employer fails to comply within the 72-hour grace period.

1.3 provides the employer with the right to contest the stop-work order
within 10 days of issuance.

1.4 defines the penalties for noncompliance.

1.5 mandates that employees affected by a stop-work order shall be paid
their regular rate while the order is in effect or the first 10 days the
employee would have been scheduled to work, whichever is less.

1.6 outlines the effects of the order & penalties on the successors of a
business entity.

1.7 establishes a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an
employer in any manner discriminates, retaliates, or takes any adverse
action against any employee within 90 days of the employee initiating a
complaint pursuant to this article.

1.8 requires the Commissioner to promulgate rules and regulations as
necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.

Section 2 states the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Both independent contractors and traditional employees play important,
yet different, roles in the workplace and our economy as a whole. As a
result of their differences, employees classified as independent
contractors are not required by law to be paid the minimum wage or over-
time pay. According to the United States Department of Labor (DOL), the
purposeful misclassification of employees as independent contractors is
one of the most serious issues impacting employees, as misclassified
employees are prevented from accessing basic workplace protections, such
as the right to minimum wage.

This legislation will allow for the New York State Department of Labor
to issue a stop work order to an employer found to have knowingly
misclassified employees as independent contractors or provided false,
incomplete, or misleading information to an insurance company on the
number of employees. This will ensure employees are able to access the
protections entitled to them by law.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2022-2024: Passed Senate/Died in Labor

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become a law.

2025-S1514 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1514
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 10, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. HARCKHAM, HINCHEY, JACKSON, MATTERA, PALUMBO, RAMOS,
   ROLISON,  WEBB  -- 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 issuing  stop-work  orders
   for misclassification of employees

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 45 to read
 as follows:
   § 45. MISCLASSIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES;  STOP-WORK  ORDERS.  1.  IF  THE
 COMMISSIONER   DETERMINES,   AFTER  AN  INVESTIGATION  PURSUANT  TO  THE
 PROVISIONS OF THIS CHAPTER, THAT AN EMPLOYER HAS KNOWINGLY MISCLASSIFIED
 EMPLOYEES AS INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS OR PROVIDED FALSE,  INCOMPLETE,  OR
 MISLEADING  INFORMATION TO AN INSURANCE COMPANY ON THE NUMBER OF EMPLOY-
 EES OF SUCH EMPLOYER, THE COMMISSIONER SHALL  NOTIFY  SUCH  EMPLOYER  IN
 WRITING  OF  THEIR  INTENTION  TO  ISSUE  A STOP-WORK ORDER. SUCH NOTICE
 SHALL:
   A. BE SERVED IN A MANNER CONSISTENT WITH SECTION THREE  HUNDRED  EIGHT
 OF THE CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES;
   B. NOTIFY SUCH EMPLOYER OF THEIR RIGHT TO A HEARING;
   C.  NOTIFY  SUCH  EMPLOYER  THAT  THEY SHALL HAVE SEVENTY-TWO HOURS TO
 ADDRESS THE VIOLATION OR VIOLATIONS BEFORE THE STOP-WORK ORDER  WILL  BE
 ISSUED; AND
   D. STATE THE FACTUAL BASIS UPON WHICH THE COMMISSIONER HAS BASED THEIR
 DECISION  TO  ISSUE  A  STOP-WORK ORDER AND HOW SUCH EMPLOYER SHALL COME
 INTO COMPLIANCE.
   2. A. AFTER RECEIPT OF SUCH NOTICE, THE EMPLOYER SHALL  HAVE  SEVENTY-
 TWO HOURS TO COME INTO COMPLIANCE AND TO NOTIFY THE COMMISSIONER OF SUCH
 COMPLIANCE. WITHIN SEVENTY-TWO HOURS AFTER THE EMPLOYER'S OPPORTUNITY TO
 COME  INTO COMPLIANCE, IF THE EMPLOYER HAS NOT COME INTO COMPLIANCE, THE
 COMMISSIONER SHALL ISSUE A STOP-WORK ORDER REQUIRING  THE  CESSATION  OF
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04513-01-5

 S. 1514                             2
 
 ALL  BUSINESS  OPERATIONS  OF  THE  EMPLOYER  AT EVERY SITE AT WHICH THE
 VIOLATION OCCURS.
   B.  A  STOP-WORK ORDER SHALL TAKE EFFECT WHEN SERVED UPON THE EMPLOYER
 OR WHEN SERVED AT THE WORKSITE.
   C. A STOP-WORK ORDER SHALL REMAIN IN  EFFECT  UNTIL  THE  COMMISSIONER
 ISSUES  AN  ORDER  RELEASING  THE  STOP-WORK ORDER UPON FINDING THAT THE
 EMPLOYER HAS COME INTO COMPLIANCE AND HAS PAID ANY PENALTY ASSESSED.
   3. AN EMPLOYER WHO IS SUBJECT TO A  STOP-WORK  ORDER  SHALL  HAVE  THE
 RIGHT  TO  APPLY  TO  THE COMMISSIONER, NOT MORE THAN TEN DAYS AFTER THE
 ORDER IS ISSUED, FOR A HEARING TO CONTEST WHETHER THE EMPLOYER COMMITTED
 THE VIOLATION ON WHICH THE ORDER WAS BASED.
   4. FAILURE OR REFUSAL TO COMPLY WITH A STOP-WORK ORDER ISSUED  BY  THE
 COMMISSIONER  SHALL,  IN  ADDITION  TO ANY OTHER PENALTIES AUTHORIZED BY
 LAW, RESULT IN THE ASSESSMENT OF A PENALTY OF NOT LESS THAN ONE THOUSAND
 DOLLARS AND NOT MORE THAN FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR EACH DAY THE EMPLOY-
 ER IS FOUND NOT TO BE IN COMPLIANCE.
   5. AN EMPLOYEE AFFECTED BY A STOP-WORK ORDER PURSUANT TO THIS  SECTION
 SHALL  BE  PAID THEIR REGULAR RATE FOR THE PERIOD THE STOP-WORK ORDER IS
 IN PLACE OR THE FIRST TEN DAYS THE EMPLOYEE WOULD HAVE BEEN SCHEDULED TO
 WORK IF THE STOP-WORK ORDER HAD NOT BEEN ISSUED, WHICHEVER IS  LESS,  BY
 THE EMPLOYER THAT WAS SERVED THE STOP-WORK ORDER.
   6.  STOP-WORK  ORDERS  AND ANY ADDITIONAL PENALTIES IMPOSED UNDER THIS
 CHAPTER AGAINST A CORPORATION, PARTNERSHIP OR SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP  SHALL
 BE  EFFECTIVE  AGAINST  ANY SUCCESSOR ENTITY THAT HAS ONE OR MORE OF THE
 SAME PRINCIPALS OR OFFICERS AS  THE  CORPORATION,  PARTNERSHIP  OR  SOLE
 PROPRIETORSHIP  AGAINST  WHICH  THE  STOP-WORK  ORDER WAS ISSUED AND ARE
 ENGAGED IN THE SAME OR EQUIVALENT TRADE OR ACTIVITY.
   7. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS  SECTION,  THERE  SHALL  BE  A  REBUTTABLE
 PRESUMPTION  OF  UNLAWFUL  RETALIATION  IF  AN  EMPLOYER  IN  ANY MANNER
 DISCRIMINATES, RETALIATES, OR  TAKES  ANY  ADVERSE  ACTION  AGAINST  ANY
 EMPLOYEE  WITHIN  NINETY  DAYS  OF  THE  EMPLOYEE INITIATING A COMPLAINT
 PURSUANT TO THIS ARTICLE.
   8. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL PROMULGATE ANY RULES AND REGULATIONS  NECES-
 SARY TO CARRY OUT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it shall have become a law.

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Senate Bill S1514

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Labor Committee

co-Sponsors

2025-S1514 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S1514 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S1514 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S1514 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S1514

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Labor Committee

co-Sponsors

2025-S1514 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S1514 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S1514 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S1514 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments