President's Message
Oppose Elimination of Weekly Pay for Manual Workers
The Governor's budget proposal (Part K of S8306/A8806) would effectively invalidate the weekly pay frequency requirement for manual workers. Labor Law § 191 requires employers to pay manual workers weekly. The only meaningful means to enforce this weekly pay requirement is through the liquidated damages provision in Labor Law § 198, which applies to wage violations. This proposal would eliminate liquidated damages awards for pay frequency violations so long as workers are paid no less frequently than twice per month.
Without liquidated damages, violations of the weekly pay requirement will go unanswered, and unscrupulous employers will be permitted to violate the statute with impunity. This proposal would disproportionately harm low-wage workers who cannot afford to wait weeks between paychecks.
Under current law employers that meet certain minimum eligibility thresholds can already seek a waiver of the weekly pay requirement from the Department of Labor. The Department of Labor maintains a list of exempt employers and posts it on the Department’s website. The list is updated monthly.
Maintaining the weekly pay requirement is vital to protecting the financial security of manual workers. We strongly urge the Legislature to reject this proposal included in the Governor's executive budget.
Mario Cilento, President
Upcoming Meeting
LABOR LOBBYISTS MEETING
Monday, March 18, 2024, 1:00 p.m.
This meeting will be located at the Albany office of the NYS AFL-CIO,
100 South Swan St. Albany, NY. Lunch will be served.
This meeting is for labor representatives only.
Assemblymember Pheffer Amato, Chair of the Governmental Employees Committee will be the guest speaker.