Another one this week for New York employers: Governor Hochul signed into law a bill that amends the New York Penal Law to criminalize “wage theft” as a form of larceny. As a result, employers now face the potential of felony convictions for failure to pay, or for underpaying, wages to employees.
Further, the amendment allows prosecutors to aggregate an employer’s failures to pay wages, even if such failures occurred in multiple counties, so as to increase the total amount at issue, and, correspondingly, the potential criminal penalty. If the aggregated unpaid amounts at issue exceed $1,000, it will constitute grand larceny in the fourth degree, which is a Class E felony.
Conviction for a Class E felony can result in up to four years of imprisonment, with longer prison sentences of up to twenty-five years possible for failure to pay an aggregate amount of more than $1,000,000.
Employers in New York this is a great time to audit your pay practices to make sure you are complying with all wage requirements.
Take a look at the amended definition of larceny here: NYS Open Legislation | NYSenate.gov