New York State has resolved a recent judicial split regarding pay frequency violation remedies by amending the New York Labor Law (“NYLL”) to limit an employee’s ability to recover sizeable liquidated damages. New York employers will welcome the newfound certainty (and capped damages) provided by this legislative development.
The change concerns so called “manual workers” – a group defined under NYLL § 190(4) and that the New York State Department of Labor has long recognized as employees who spend more than 25% of their working time performing physical labor. Courts have construed “manual workers” to also include many professions that may not immediately come to mind when one pictures traditional “manual” labor – e.g., drivers, hair stylists, security guards, retail employees, and restaurant wait staff. Where employees qualify as “manual workers,” NYLL § 191(1)(a) creates a stringent requirement for employer pay these “manual workers” at least weekly. Where employers fail to make weekly payments, NYLL § 198 sets forth various recourse available for such violations.
An important 2019 court decision significantly changed the terrain regarding these claims. In its Vega v. CM & Associates Construction Management, LLC decision, the Appellate Division, First Department (the intermediate appellate court covering Manhattan and the Bronx) held that qualifying manual workers had a private right of action to sue their employers for violations of the weekly pay frequency...
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