Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. recently announced a new prosecutorial branch tasked with investigating and prosecuting wage theft and other forms of worker harassment and exploitation throughout the borough. The Worker Protection Unit, announced on February 16, will serve as part of a broader effort from the D.A.’s office to hold corporations accountable for workplace wrongdoing. It will pursue criminal charges against corporations – and potentially individuals – who engage in wage theft and disregard worker safety. In addition, D.A. Bragg announced the first-ever Stolen Wage Fund for Manhattan victims of wage theft, which will be funded through the D.A.’s Criminal Justice Investment Initiative and operated in partnership with the New York State Department of Labor. These developments raise many questions for NYC-based employers – what do you need to know?
Worker Protection Unit
According to Cornell University’s Worker Institute, wage theft in New York accounts for almost $1 billion in lost wages each year, affecting thousands of workers. While the D.A. previously focused on wage theft in the construction and real estate development industries, the Worker Protection Unit’s will expand on the offices efforts and focus on other industries such as hotels, fast food and restaurants, and healthcare facilities.
In its press release, the D.A.’s office said that the new Unit will not only prosecute individuals and corporations that steal wages, but will take it a...
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