NY Manual Workers Face New Damages Limits in Pay-Delay Cases

New York’s newly enacted budget significantly limits the damages available to manual workers suing their employers for failing to pay them as frequently as state law requires, but the measure left unresolved whether they can bring these cases at all.

Workers who once sought damages equal to their late-paid wages under a New York law mandating weekly pay for manual laborers are now restricted to the interest they missed out on during the delay, except when their employers are repeat offenders or didn’t pay even semi-monthly.

The change, which applies to pending and prospective litigation, took effect with Gov. ...