In honor of tax day, Assemblyman Karl Brabenec (R,C,I-Deerpark) joined Assemblyman Colin Schmitt (R-New Windsor), Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson (D-Newburgh), Chris Borak from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and members of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters at a rally to protest construction industry wage theft, tax fraud and protecting local labor.

Across all American industries, workers and their families lose $8 billion a year to wage theft as developers and companies delay payments to workers, ignoring mandated time-and-a-half overtime payments or simply not paying employees their entire earnings. The bipartisan rally, held at the Newburgh Post Office today, centered around holding contractors and the subcontractors they use accountable for their profit-maximizing business practices that often hurt employees and discourage creating local jobs.

“We came out today to bring light to the underground economy,” stated Assemblyman Brabenec. “Too often, unqualified contractors cheat New Yorkers through committing tax fraud and other illegal activities, and it is time we stand up to them to provide the necessary protection for workers, taxpayers, law-abiding contractors and insurers.”