Worker Misclassification Bill Passes NY State Senate
ALBANY—Legislation protecting workers who are misclassified by their employers recently passed in the State Senate by a unanimous 61-0. The measure was part of a large package of bills supporting working New Yorkers that were approved. Misclassification often impedes access to important workplace benefits and impacts wages.
New York State Senator Pete Harckham (D-40th District) sponsored the legislation (S1514).
More than 870,000 workers in New York State, mostly in the major low-paying industries like construction, transportation and retailing, are misclassified, according to a Center for New York City Affairs report released in June 2022. The legislation, if enacted, will empower the commissioner of New York’s Department 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 who are “on the job” in the workplace.
“Misclassification of employees as independent contractors denies workers the rights they deserve—including minimum wage, overtime pay, unemployment insurance, health insurance and Workers’ Compensation,” said Sen. Harckham. “My legislation will result in decisive action being undertaken by the state to safeguard the rights of workers. We need to be able to shut down the places where these violations are being committed and check corporate scofflaws.”
Employees classified as independent contractors are not required by law to be paid the minimum wage or overtime pay. The purposeful misclassification of employees as independent contractors is one of the most serious issues impacting employees, according to the U.S. Labor Department, because misclassified employees are prevented from accessing basic workplace protections such as the right to minimum wage.
Sen. Harckham’s bill mandates that employees affected by a stop-work order be paid their regular rate while the order is in effect for the first 10 days the employee would have been scheduled to work. Employees initiating a complaint regarding their misclassification are protected against unlawful retaliation by the employer. Employees would have 72 hours after they are notified of a violation for their employee classification to be in compliance before the stop-work order is issued.
The bill’s passage in the Senate was hailed by area building trades and organized labor leaders. Thomas Carey, president of the Westchester/Putnam Central Labor AFL-CIO, said, “Once again, Senator Harckham is looking out for the health and safety of workers. Misclassification of workers not only puts our workforce in danger, it also can be detrimental to the consumer and the job site itself. We hope our Labor Commissioner will strictly enforce this important legislation and are grateful to have a strong representative in Senator Harckham. Labor applauds Senator Harckham for prioritizing the safety of the workforce.”
Jeff Loughlin, business manager of International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 137, said, “For too long, employers have exploited workers by misclassifying them, depriving them of fair compensation and proper workplace protections. Holding these bad actors accountable is a big step forward. I want to thank Senator Harckham for his continued dedication to protecting workers’ rights in New York.”