Today, August 20, 2021, New York’s Governor signed a new law, S858, which closes a loophole in New York’s Labor Law relating to wage theft.
Specifically, the law amends New York Labor Law sections 193 and 198. Previously, the law prevented certain “deductions.” However, there was ambiguity as to whether a complete failure to pay wages constitutes a “deduction.”
The new law closes this “loophole,” adding the following language to section 193 (in a new paragraph 5): “There is no exception to liability under [section 193] for the unauthorized failure to pay wages, benefits or wage supplements.”
It also adds this language to Labor Law section 198(3), in order to harmonize the two sections.