New York Governor David Paterson signed new protections against wage theft into law on Monday. The law will increase the penalties for employers who pay below minimum wage, unfairly garnish wages or deny overtime to employees. The new law will raise the penalty that employers may have to pay from 25% to 100% of the wages due to the employee. The bill also includes damages for workers who are threatened or fired for speaking out about wage theft. Opponents say that the bill creates needless paperwork for employers who do the right thing, while proponents of the bill say that it will help workers across the state, especially in the restaurant, retail and construction industries obtain the wages they earn.
See "Workers' Safeguards Strengthened by N.Y. Law", Sam Dolnick, The New York Times, December 13, 2010