Wage Theft Prevention Act in NY Governor’s Hands

The New York Assembly did pass the Wage Theft Prevention Act (WTPA) that we wrote about last week.  They have now sent it to the desk of Governor David Paterson for his signature.  The governor sent a signal to the Assembly before the hearings last week that he was in favor of the bill and that he would sign it once the Assembly approved it.

An article in the NY Daily News quotes NY State Senator Diane Savino, one of the sponsors of the act, as saying:

“Stealing from employees not only hurts families, it hurts communities. It also makes honest employers less competitive. Businesses that are good citizens and pay their employees what is owed them and on time, as is required by law, should not be at a disadvantage to companies that are illegally withholding wages from their workers.” 

A number of business owners and organizations are feverishly lobbying to persuade the governor to veto the bill as they say that it will raise business costs in a period when the economy is trying to recover from a major recession.

Proponents say that the $1.2 billion that has previously not been paid to employees in the state each year will help those workers and will enable additional sales and taxes to help the ailing budget of the states.

We will let you know as soon as we hear what the Governor has done.