Bill > A05000

This bill clarifies the nature and intent of liquidated damages and statutory damages in New York labor law, ensuring that these monetary awards are understood as compensatory rather than punitive. Specifically, the bill addresses two key issues: first, it aims to make liquidated damages (typically an amount equal to unpaid wages) uniformly interpretable as compensatory in both state and federal courts, whereas previously some state courts had misconstrued them as penalties. Second, the bill seeks to clarify that statutory damages for wage notice and statement violations are designed to compensate workers for the harm caused by wage theft, including difficulties in identifying wage violations, potential loss of claims due to statute of limitations, and the stress of unclear pay details. The bill makes several technical amendments to labor law, including allowing employees to recover statutory damages, explicitly permitting class action lawsuits for wage violations, and ensuring that these provisions apply to labor law violations that occurred within the six years prior to the act's effective date. By making these clarifications, the bill intends to provide more consistent and comprehensive protections for workers and ensure that employers who violate wage laws face appropriate financial consequences.

Labor and Employment

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A5000