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NYS Department of Labor Announces Nearly $150,000
Wage Theft Recovery for Two Lewis County Dairy Farm Workers
Published: May 17, 2023 at
02:00 p.m.
By: Press Release from NYS Department of Labor
THE NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR ANNOUNCES
NEARLY $150,000 WAGE THEFT RECOVERY FOR TWO DAIRY FARM WORKERS
Commissioner Reardon Issues Warning to Unscrupulous
Employers
The New York
State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) announced a settlement in a wage theft
case that resulted in two farm workers receiving nearly $150,000 in back
wages. NYSDOL investigators found that Lewis County dairy farm Hancor Holsteins had failed to pay its workers the
overtime wages they were owed for nearly two years.
“Let cases like
this stand as a warning to unscrupulous employers: New York State will not
tolerate rightfully earned wages being stolen from workers,” said New
York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon. “We will
aggressively pursue and hold bad actors accountable in our ongoing efforts
to protect workers and assure they receive all the wages they have earned.”
The two farm
workers filed complaints with NYSDOL’s Division of Labor Standards claiming
they were not paid for overtime hours worked for the period from January 1,
2020, through December 12, 2021. Over the course of the investigation, Hancor Holsteins admitted to NYSDOL investigators that
they altered payroll records to reduce actual hours worked as a way to avoid paying overtime. The farm workers were
not being paid overtime for hours worked past 60 hours per week as required
by the Farm Laborer Fair Practice Act. Both victims received more than
$74,000 each to compensate for the underpayment.
New York State’s Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act establishes
that, as of January 2020, all farm workers must be paid one and a half
times the regular rate of pay for any hours worked over 60 hours in a
calendar week. The law also established the formation of the Farm Laborers Wage Board, which in 2022 recommended
lowering the current 60-hour threshold for overtime pay to 40 hours per
week over a ten-year phase-in period, beginning in 2024. In February 2022,
NYSDOL announced the adoption of the final farm labor
overtime regulations, codifying the Board’s report and recommendation into
law.
In July 2022,
Governor Hochul announced renewed efforts by New York State to
crack down on wage theft, including nearly $3 million in recoveries through
the Wage Theft Task Force, a coordinated partnership between NYSDOL, the
New York State Attorney General, the New York State Insurance Fund, the New
York City Department of Investigations, and Offices of District Attorneys
across the state. The Governor also announced launch
of a new hotline, 833-910-4378, which New Yorkers can call to report wage
theft. Victims can also email labor.sm.ls.ask@labor.ny.gov for
assistance.
Over the past
decade, NYSDOL had recovered and dispersed more than $360 million in stolen
wages, identified over a million misclassified workers, and assessed over
$400 million owed in unemployment insurance contributions through both
criminal cases and civil enforcement. For more information wages,
including minimum and unpaid wages, visit NYSDOL’s Division of Labor Standards’ webpage.
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