New York, NY – Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal today called upon the Senate to take up bill A.5501-C/S.2232-E, the SWEAT (Securing Wages Earned Against Theft) bill, which would build upon the historic Wage Theft Prevention Act by allowing workers owed previously earned wages to file a wage lien against the assets of their employer.

“New York made history by being among the first states to increase its minimum wage to $15 an hour, but that victory is pyrrhic unless employees can collect the wages they worked hard to earn,” said Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal. “The SWEAT bill will ensure that a judgment for earned wages is worth more than the piece of paper it’s written on by allowing workers to file a lien against the assets of their employer.”

Wage theft continues to be a serious problem in New York State. A 2015 report issued by the SWEAT Coalition revealed that there were more than 62 unpaid wage theft judgments totaling more than $28 million owed to 284 workers. Employees often learn that the hard work comes after they win a judgment, since unscrupulous employers often file for bankruptcy, sell the business or hide behind a maze of LLCs to avoid paying a judgment for earned wages.

“Those millions of dollars in unpaid wage theft judgments represents more than justice left unserved, it is months of rent, a week’s worth of groceries and new school shoes for the daughter or son who has just experienced a growth spurt,” said Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal.

The bill would expand the existing lien law to allow workers outside the construction industry to lien against their employer’s real or personal property. To use the lien, an aggrieved employee must show that that they are likely to win their wage theft case. Once the employee has met this burden, the court will temporarily attach the property while the case is ongoing to ensure that if successful, the employee can ultimately collect.

“Employers who follow the rules and pay their employees should support this,” said Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal. “The bill does not create any new liability or responsibility, but instead streamlines the process and helps to balance the scales of justice in favor of aggrieved employees, who for years have been denied millions of dollars in back pay at the hands of their unscrupulous employers.”

Members of the SWEAT Coalition include the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, National Organization for Women (NOW), Communication Workers of American District 1, National Lawyers Guild – NYC, UAW Region 9-A, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice and the Legal Aid Society, to name a few.

“The Assembly’s passage of this legislation is a tremendous step towards ensuring that workers get paid the lawful wages they work so hard for, and that honest businesses are not unfairly undercut by businesses that flout the labor laws,” said David Colodny, a Supervising Attorney at the Urban Justice Center in New York City. “This legislation eliminates legal loopholes that allow employers to get away with labor violations, and its passage will not impose any costs on businesses or New York State. We applaud Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal for her great leadership on this critical issue.”

"It is criminal that workers, after putting in hours and hours of work, could have their wages stolen from them! How is the worker supposed to put food on the table or pay their bills? What good is a law if the loopholes are so big it is ineffectual? Today the New York State Assembly, under the strong leadership of Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, passed the Securing Wages Earned Against Theft (“S.W.E.A.T.”) bill which will now give the aggrieved employees as well as the Department of Labor the tools they need to collect the lawful wages earned. Now on to the Senate!" stated Susan Zimet, Executive Director of Hunger Action Network of New York State.

Jei Fong, from Chinese Staff & Workers Association, as a representative of the SWEAT Coalition stated, “If our elected officials in Albany don’t pass the SWEAT bill this year, many workers will be left behind when wages are increased next year. It’s impossible to lift workers out of poverty when unscrupulous employers continue to underpay workers and can still avoid ever being held responsible. Our bill allows workers and the government to go after employers who break the law. This is good for workers, law-abiding employers, and the state.”

"Stealing wages or benefits owed to workers undermines the integrity of our whole economy and further impoverishes workers who often are among the lowest paid already. There have to be consequences for this immoral behavior. The SWEAT bill will make it much easier for workers and the state to hold dishonest employers accountable and recoup the money they are owed." Rev. Emily McNeill, Lead Organizer, NYS Labor-Religion Coalition.

Elizabeth Koo, Staff Attorney with Empire Justice Center’s Workers’ Rights Project in Rochester, said, “Empire Justice Center thanks Speaker Heastie, Assemblymember Rosenthal and the NYS Assembly for moving this critical legislation forward. The SWEAT bill is badly needed to protect and level the playing field for hard-working New Yorkers, workers and law-abiding businesses all across New York State.”