Bill > A09134

This bill extends the authority of wage boards, now renamed as "workers' boards", to consider and set minimum standards not just for wages, but also for benefits and working conditions. The bill broadens the definition of benefits to include health care, paid family leave, sick leave, childcare, and retirement benefits, and defines working conditions as establishing work hours, ensuring worker safety, and promoting employee participation in workplace decisions. It requires workers' boards to evaluate factors contributing to insufficient wages and benefits, make recommendations for compensation standards, minimum benefits, and working conditions, and encourages collaboration between employers and employees. The bill also establishes a process for training workers about new standards, allows employees and eligible representatives to bring civil actions for wage and benefit violations, and provides mechanisms for enforcement, including potential penalties for employers who fail to comply with the new standards. The goal is to adapt labor laws to changing economic conditions and worker needs, ultimately aiming to improve financial stability, health, and well-being for workers across various industries in New York State.

Labor and Employment

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A9134