Bill Text: NY A00168 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Creates a fund for the compensation of unpaid or underpaid employees; requires the division of labor standards to provide instruction and assistance pertaining to tax filing and reporting requirements to persons who claim unpaid wages; directs the commissioner of taxation and finance to provide for the collection of income taxes from judgments for unpaid wages.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-23 - print number 168a [A00168 Detail]
Download: New_York-2013-A00168-Amended.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
168--A
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
(PREFILED)
January 9, 2013
___________
Introduced by M. of A. KAVANAGH -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Ways and Means -- recommitted to the Committee on Ways and
Means in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to money
judgments in satisfaction of actions brought by employees for unpaid
or underpaid wages; to amend the state finance law, in relation to
creating the employee wage safety fund; and to require dissemination
of certain information by the division of labor standards
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "wage safety act".
3 S 2. The civil practice law and rules is amended by adding a new
4 section 5020-b to read as follows:
5 S 5020-B. JUDGMENTS; TAXES PAID IN CERTAIN CASES. IN CASES OF MONEY
6 JUDGMENTS IN SATISFACTION OF ACTIONS BROUGHT BY EMPLOYEES FOR UNPAID OR
7 UNDERPAID WAGES, THE JUDGMENT DEBTOR SHALL BE REQUIRED TO PAY AN AMOUNT
8 EQUAL TO TEN PERCENT OF SUCH JUDGMENT INTO THE EMPLOYEE WAGE SAFETY FUND
9 ESTABLISHED IN SECTION NINETY-NINE-V OF THE STATE FINANCE LAW. MONIES
10 IN SUCH FUND SHALL BE AVAILABLE TO MAKE FULL OR PARTIAL PAYMENTS ON
11 JUDGMENTS FOR UNPAID OR UNDERPAID WAGES WHERE SUCH JUDGMENTS REMAIN
12 UNSATISFIED FOR A PERIOD OF TIME TO BE SPECIFIED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF
13 LABOR.
14 S 3. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 99-v to
15 read as follows:
16 S 99-V. THE EMPLOYEE WAGE SAFETY FUND. 1. THERE IS HEREBY ESTABLISHED
17 IN THE JOINT CUSTODY OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER AND THE COMMISSIONER OF
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03066-03-4
A. 168--A 2
1 TAXATION AND FINANCE A FUND TO BE KNOWN AS THE "EMPLOYEE WAGE SAFETY
2 FUND."
3 2. THE FUND SHALL CONSIST OF THE ADDITIONAL FEE OR SUCH CHARGE ON
4 MONEY JUDGMENTS ENTERED AGAINST EMPLOYERS ON CLAIMS FOR UNPAID OR UNDER-
5 PAID WAGES PURSUANT TO SECTION FIVE THOUSAND TWENTY-B OF THE CIVIL PRAC-
6 TICE LAW AND RULES.
7 3. MONIES FROM THIS FUND SHALL BE PAYABLE TO EMPLOYEES WHO MEET THE
8 REQUIREMENTS SET FORTH IN SUBDIVISION FOUR OF THIS SECTION ON THE AUDIT
9 AND WARRANT OF THE COMPTROLLER BASED ON VOUCHERS CERTIFIED BY THE
10 COMMISSIONER OF LABOR.
11 4. THE COMMISSIONER OF LABOR SHALL CERTIFY VOUCHERS FOR PAYMENTS SET
12 FORTH IN SUBDIVISION THREE OF THIS SECTION UPON APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS
13 BY EMPLOYEES FOR COMPENSATION OR PAYMENTS BY THE FUND FOR UNSATISFIED
14 MONEY JUDGMENTS WHICH WERE ENTERED AGAINST EMPLOYERS FOR UNPAID OR
15 UNDERPAID WAGES. THE COMMISSIONER OF LABOR MAY AUTHORIZE FULL OR
16 PARTIAL PAYMENT ON CLAIMS BASED UPON CRITERIA SET FORTH IN REGULATIONS
17 TO BE ADOPTED AND IN CONSIDERATION OF THE AMOUNTS AVAILABLE THEREFOR. A
18 JUDGMENT SHALL BE CONSIDERED UNSATISFIED WHERE THE DIVISION OF LABOR
19 STANDARDS IS UNABLE, AFTER REASONABLE EFFORTS ARE MADE, TO COLLECT SUCH
20 JUDGMENT AMOUNT FROM AN EMPLOYER OR FORMER EMPLOYER. AN EMPLOYEE MAKING
21 A CLAIM THROUGH THE DIVISION SHALL COOPERATE FULLY IN SUCH EFFORTS.
22 S 4. The department of labor, by and through the division of labor
23 standards shall require all applicants filing a complaint for unpaid
24 wages with the division to provide either his or her social security
25 number or, in case of a noncitizen or undocumented immigrant, his or her
26 tax identification number. The division shall inform each applicant of
27 his or her duty to report his or her income to the department of taxa-
28 tion and finance and shall provide him or her with an I-1099 tax form.
29 The division shall make available to all applicants instruction and
30 assistance in completing such forms, including but not limited to,
31 translation of such instructions for non-English speaking individuals or
32 those with limited English proficiency.
33 S 5. The commissioner of taxation and finance is hereby directed to
34 implement procedures to provide for the payment or partial payment of
35 income taxes due on judgments for unpaid or underpaid wages at the time
36 that the division of labor standards distributes an award to an eligible
37 employee.
38 S 6. The commissioner of labor is hereby authorized to promulgate any
39 rules or regulations necessary for the implementation of this act on or
40 before its effective date.
41 S 7. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to taxable
42 years beginning on and after January 1, 2015.
