MEMO OF OPPOSITION

S.2762 (Ramos) / A.766 (Rosenthal)
Relates to securing payment of wages for work already performed; creates an employee lien

MACNY – The Manufacturers Association opposes S.2762/A.766 as it would allow for the creation of an “employee lien” for the purposes of securing payment for alleged violations of state labor law. MACNY, which represents more than 300 manufacturing companies and other businesses and organizations throughout the Central New York region, understands the bill’s intention and certainly supports the enforcement of New York’s wage and hour laws.

However, an employee lien is an unnecessary response. Issues like this should be litigated not legislated.  Certain procedures and remedies are already in place for isolated cases of poor company conduct.

New York’s Wage Theft Prevention Act already provides both civil and criminal penalties if employers are found responsible for wage theft. If this legislation were to become law, and employees allowed to put liens on personal or company property based on allegations that employees were underpaid, businesses could face credit freezes and first-line managers could be put at risk of financial ruin. As a result, more businesses may be discouraged to operate or invest back into New York state.

The current language of the bill is also broad. It cites four separate Labor Law definitions of an employer, which results in an expansive definition of “employer.” This means that an employer’s agents, supervisors, and other managers, who have no responsibility for or control over such pay practices, could be subject to personal liens.

For these reasons stated above, MACNY opposes the legislation.