The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) recently announced a significant victory in a wage theft case that resulted in a substantial settlement for two farm workers. Hancor Holsteins, a Lewis County dairy farm, was found guilty of withholding overtime wages from its workers for nearly two years. The NYSDOL's investigation revealed that the farm had manipulated payroll records to underreport hours worked, thus evading the payment of overtime wages.
The farm workers filed complaints with the NYSDOL's Division of Labor Standards, highlighting their unpaid overtime hours between January 2020 and December 2021. Following a thorough investigation, Hancor Holsteins admitted to altering records in an attempt to avoid fulfilling its legal obligation to compensate employees for overtime work. The victims, who were denied overtime pay beyond the 60-hour threshold set by the Farm Laborer Fair Practice Act, were each awarded over $74,000 to rectify the wage theft.
New York State's Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act, implemented in January 2020, stipulates that farm workers must receive one and a half times their regular rate of pay for any hours worked beyond 60 in a week. Furthermore, the Act established the Farm Laborers Wage Board, which recommended reducing the overtime threshold to 40 hours per week over a ten-year period, starting in 2024. In February 2022, NYSDOL codified the Board's recommendations into law through the adoption of final farm labor overtime regulations.
This landmark settlement exemplifies New York State's firm stance against wage theft and its commitment to protecting workers' rights. Governor Hochul's administration has intensified efforts to combat wage theft, resulting in nearly $3 million in recoveries through the Wage Theft Task Force. The state has also launched a dedicated hotline and email address for reporting wage theft, ensuring that victims have access to the necessary assistance labor.sm.ls.ask@labor.ny.gov.
The NYSDOL's unwavering dedication to combating wage theft has yielded remarkable results over the past decade, with millions of dollars in stolen wages recovered and redistributed, and numerous cases of worker misclassification exposed. Through criminal investigations and civil enforcement, the department has upheld justice, holding employers accountable and safeguarding workers' well-being. For comprehensive information on wages, including minimum and unpaid wages, individuals can visit the NYSDOL's Division of Labor Standards' webpage.
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Categories: New York, Business, Government & Policy