Bill Text: NY S07886 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: 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.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-3)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-05-29 - referred to labor [S07886 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S07886-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         7886--A

                    IN SENATE

                                     January 3, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens. HARCKHAM, HINCHEY, RAMOS -- read twice and ordered
          printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor --
          committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as  amended  and
          recommitted to said committee

        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:

     1    Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 45 to read
     2  as follows:
     3    §  45.  Misclassification  of  employees;  stop-work orders. 1. If the
     4  commissioner  determines,  after  an  investigation  pursuant   to   the
     5  provisions of this chapter, that an employer has knowingly misclassified
     6  employees  as  independent contractors or provided false, incomplete, or
     7  misleading information to an insurance company on the number of  employ-
     8  ees  of  such  employer,  the commissioner shall notify such employer in
     9  writing of their intention to  issue  a  stop-work  order.  Such  notice
    10  shall:
    11    a.  be  served in a manner consistent with section three hundred eight
    12  of the civil practice law and rules;
    13    b. notify such employer of their right to a hearing;
    14    c. notify such employer that they  shall  have  seventy-two  hours  to
    15  address  the  violation or violations before the stop-work order will be
    16  issued; and
    17    d. state the factual basis upon which the commissioner has based their
    18  decision to issue a stop-work order and how  such  employer  shall  come
    19  into compliance.
    20    2.  a.  After receipt of such notice, the employer shall have seventy-
    21  two hours to come into compliance and to notify the commissioner of such
    22  compliance. Within seventy-two hours after the employer's opportunity to
    23  come into compliance, if the employer has not come into compliance,  the
    24  commissioner  shall  issue  a stop-work order requiring the cessation of
    25  all business operations of the employer  at  every  site  at  which  the
    26  violation occurs.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13916-02-4
        S. 7886--A                          2

     1    b.  A  stop-work order shall take effect when served upon the employer
     2  or when served at the worksite.
     3    c.  A  stop-work  order  shall remain in effect until the commissioner
     4  issues an order releasing the stop-work  order  upon  finding  that  the
     5  employer has come into compliance and has paid any penalty assessed.
     6    3.  An  employer  who  is  subject to a stop-work order shall have the
     7  right to apply to the commissioner, not more than  ten  days  after  the
     8  order is issued, for a hearing to contest whether the employer committed
     9  the violation on which the order was based.
    10    4.  Failure  or refusal to comply with a stop-work order issued by the
    11  commissioner shall, in addition to any  other  penalties  authorized  by
    12  law, result in the assessment of a penalty of not less than one thousand
    13  dollars and not more than five thousand dollars for each day the employ-
    14  er is found not to be in compliance.
    15    5.  An employee affected by a stop-work order pursuant to this section
    16  shall be paid their regular rate for the period the stop-work  order  is
    17  in place or the first ten days the employee would have been scheduled to
    18  work  if  the stop-work order had not been issued, whichever is less, by
    19  the employer that was served the stop-work order.
    20    6. Stop-work orders and any additional penalties  imposed  under  this
    21  chapter  against a corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship shall
    22  be effective against any successor entity that has one or  more  of  the
    23  same  principals  or  officers  as  the corporation, partnership or sole
    24  proprietorship against which the stop-work  order  was  issued  and  are
    25  engaged in the same or equivalent trade or activity.
    26    7.  For  the  purposes  of  this  section, there shall be a rebuttable
    27  presumption of  unlawful  retaliation  if  an  employer  in  any  manner
    28  discriminates,  retaliates,  or  takes  any  adverse  action against any
    29  employee within ninety days  of  the  employee  initiating  a  complaint
    30  pursuant to this article.
    31    8.  The commissioner shall promulgate any rules and regulations neces-
    32  sary to carry out the provisions of this section.
    33    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    34  it shall have become a law.