Retaliation under New York Labor Law can take many forms, but we rarely hear about it in the context of wage kickbacks. This is because the statute only provides a private right of action to plaintiffs in limited situations. A recent case made it all the way to the Court of Appeals – New York's highest court – to determine whether an aggrieved employee could pursue his suit for kickback retaliation under the applicable Labor Law.
This case was brought by a private school teacher who alleged retaliation after his employer failed to renew his teaching contract. He claimed that the school “threat[ened] unemployment or demotion in employment” if he refused to funnel part of his paycheck to a Turkish religious leader affiliated with the school, and that he was coerced into making these payments during his employment. After the New York Supreme Court dismissed all causes of action with the exception of the Labor Law § 198-b kickback claim, the question on appeal was whether an employee in this circumstance has a private right of action to pursue damages.
New York Labor Law § 198-b makes it unlawful to “request, demand, or receive… contribution of any part or all of an employee's wages, salary, supplements. or other thing of value, upon the statement, representation, or understanding that failure to comply with such request or demand will prevent such employee from procuring or retaining employment.” Absent from the statute is an express private right of action.
On appeal, the...
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