Albany hearing spotlights wage theft and calls for stronger enforcement and a private enforcement mechanism
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
Labor officials and advocates told senators wage theft recovers only a fraction of stolen wages and that civil enforcement and new tools like the Empire Act and expanded penalties are needed to close gaps, especially for immigrant and rural workers.
The hearing brought multiple perspectives on wage theft and worker protections. Laura Campion of the Department of Labor described enforcement successes and limits: she said 2025 saw notable recoveries and penalties, but that DOL staffing and capacity questions remain.
Advocates pressed for stronger civil enforcement. Emma Krejci (Worker Justice Center) said New York's DOL recovers a small fraction of estimated stolen wages and urged adoption of the Empire Act, a California-style private-attorney-general mechanism that would allow whistleblowers, unions and attorneys to sue on the state's behalf if DOL declines to act. "Estimates of stolen wages and benefits range from $1,000,000,000 to upwards of $3,000,000,000 annually in New York State," Krejci said, and noted Empire could generate penalty revenue to bolster enforcement.
NELA board member Chris Marlborough and other witnesses described employer tactics that make individual suits difficult: misclassification as independent contractors, mandatory arbitration clauses, and contractual waivers that truncate statute-of-limitations windows. Marlborough said those private arbitration outcomes are opaque and hinder broader enforcement, and he argued public enforcement avenues would mitigate forced arbitration's effect.
Senators asked how to balance criminal prosecution with civil remedies and how to protect immigrant workers from retaliation; witnesses urged combined approaches: targeted criminal cases where appropriate, stronger civil enforcement and resource shifts to enable DOL and local prosecutors to pursue systemic abuse.
Committee members said they will consider Empire-style measures and other statutory fixes alongside budget requests for DOL and further coordination with local prosecutors.