On February 16, 2023, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. announced the creation of a special unit to "investigate and prosecute" wage theft, harassment, and exploitation of workers. He also announced the establishment, in partnership with the New York State Department of Labor, of a fund to repay victims of such crimes. D.A. Bragg and his office further declared support for a proposed bill in the New York state legislature that would expand the existing crime of larceny to include wage theft.
The new Worker Protection Unit was created to "pursue criminal charges" against companies across industries that deprive workers of wages or "steal their wages." The unit was also charged with seeking to recoup potential lost wages. Those convicted may be debarred from city contracts, according to a statement from the Manhattan district attorney's office. The effort builds off the district attorney's office's wage theft prosecutions in the construction and real estate development industries, and expands the focus to other industries where the office believes wage theft may be occurring, including "home healthcare agencies, fast food and restaurants, hotels, and more." In a statement, D.A. Bragg stated that "low-income and undocumented New Yorkers" are especially vulnerable to wage theft and other abuses.
At the same time, the office is establishing the Stolen Wage Fund for Manhattan, funded through the Manhattan District Attorney's Criminal Justice Investment Initiative...
The Southeast National Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Barr. Ray Nnaji said that widespread claims of a leadership crisis in the party stem from misinterpreting recent court r...