Working on Workers' Issues: Wages, Payroll Cards, On-Call Scheduling

In recognition of Labor Day, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman issued a Labor Day report detailing the enforcement actions of his Labor Bureau, and the policy initiatives his office has championed on behalf of working families this past year.

The Labor Day report, “Fighting for New York’s Workers,” highlights recent successful efforts by the Attorney General’s office to raise the minimum wage, improve regulation of payroll cards, and end the widespread use of on-call scheduling by retailers. The report also details Schneiderman’s crack-down on wage theft across a diverse set of industries, including fast food.

Attorney General Schneiderman’s labor cases have benefited workers in regions across the state, including the Hudson Valley. The fast food industry in particular has been the subject of wide-ranging investigations with settlements or judgments covering 91 franchise locations. The report also offers tips to New Yorkers on their rights in the workplace, and how they can protect those rights.

“As Attorney General, it is my privilege to stand with hard-working New Yorkers all over the state in their fight for dignity, respect and fairness in the workplace,” Schneiderman said in a prepared statement. “This Labor Day, I am proud to say that our office is fighting on the front lines of almost every major labor battle impacting New York workers. I look forward to many more tough fights—and victories—in the months and years ahead.”

The Labor Day report describes the Attorney General’s success protecting the rights of working New Yorkers in the past year, including:

• Stopping wage theft in industries including fast food, construction, building services, home-care, airport services and others;
• Bringing criminal enforcement actions for egregious violations, including failure to pay prevailing wage and violations of child labor laws;
• Advocating for a wage board to raise the minimum wage;
• Protecting New Yorkers’ rights to file workers compensation claims, seek unemployment insurance benefits, and serve jury duty without being penalized by employers;
• Protecting taxi drivers from unfair practices;
• Promoting stronger regulation of payroll cards to ensure that they are beneficial for workers;
• Fighting for fairer scheduling practices by reining in the use of on-call scheduling; and
• Helping to win a critical case that extends basic labor protections to home-care workers across the country.

The reports also includes a Know Your Rights guide that details important legal protections that New Yorkers have in the workplace, and includes phone numbers to call to get help and report labor rights violations.

Contact the Office of the Attorney General’s Labor Bureau by calling (212) 416-8700.