Bill > S2434

This bill aims to prevent wage theft and increase accountability for employers by establishing new legal responsibilities for "direct companies," which are businesses that hire other entities, known as "contracted entities," to perform labor or services. Specifically, a direct company can be held jointly and severally liable for wages owed by a contracted entity if a "wage theft violation" occurs, meaning a violation of various labor laws related to payment of wages, unless the contracted entity is also a sub-bidder and the direct company did not know or should not have known about the violation. Direct companies can also be held responsible for penalties or fines owed by a contracted entity if they knew or should have known about a wage theft violation. The bill mandates that both direct and contracted entities must post and provide employees with notices about their rights and protections in multiple languages. Furthermore, it introduces a "stop work order" mechanism that can be issued by the director of unemployment assistance or the attorney general against businesses found to have committed wage theft violations, requiring them to cease operations until the violation is corrected, and these orders can extend to successor businesses. Employees affected by a stop work order will be paid for a limited period. The bill also allows for the promulgation of regulations by the department of unemployment assistance and the attorney general's office to implement these new provisions.