Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that amends the labor law and specifies penalties for employers who violate it.

Highlights:

-Requires employees who fail to provide employees with a meal period to provide as compensation 1 hour's pay for each day a meal period is missed (Sec. 3). -Requires employees who fail to provide employees with a rest day to provide as damage compensation an amount equal to the employee's regular rate of compensation for each hour worked on the seventh consecutive day of employment during the workweek, to be paid in addition to the regular wages earned for the hours worked (Sec. 3). -Authorizes employees to take civil action in order to recover damages if employers fail to provide meal periods or rest days; authorizes the commissioner to take legal action on behalf of employees for the same purpose (Sec. 3). -Requires employers to provide at the time of hiring and yearly thereafter a written statement in English and in the primary language of the employee about compensation, including, but not limited to, the rate and basis (such as hourly, daily, or by commission) of pay, and requires the employer to obtain a written acknowledgement of receipt of the statement (Sec. 4). -Requires the commissioner to prepare dual-language templates for the compensation statements that employers are required to provide to their employees, to be written in English and 1 additional language which includes 7 non-English languages most widely-spoken in New York (Sec. 4). -Requires that employees keep payroll records for 6 years after the date of the payroll (Secs. 4 & 16). -Specifies that employers who fail to maintain records of allowances claimed will be barred from taking such allowances (Secs. 6 & 8). -Specifies that any liquid damages given to an employee as compensation for violation of Section 12 relating to retaliation against employees who have filed complaints against their employers must be calculated at no less than $150 per day the violation continued (Sec. 12). -Authorizes the commissioner to charge employers an additional amount equal to 15 percent of the damages owed, to happen 90 days after the order for the employer to pay becomes final (Secs. 13 & 14). -Specifies that any employer who fails to pay minimum wage or overtime compensation is guilty of a misdemeanor on the first offense and, upon conviction, will be fined $2,500 or twice the amount underpayment, whichever is greater, or imprisoned for not more than 1 year (Sec. 17).

Full Bill Text