Manhattan DA Introduces New Unit to Fight Wage Theft and Protect New York Workers

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced the creation of a unit to investigate and prosecute wage theft, labor exploitation and other forms of worker harassment in New York City.

The aptly named “Workers’ Protection Division” aims to pursue criminal charges against individuals and entities that endanger the safety of workers and/or steal their wages.

“At the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, we are holding companies and executives accountable for exploiting their workers by endangering their safety or stealing their wages,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. Worker Protection Unit is our latest step to protect hard-working New Yorkers Time and time again, we see companies taking advantage of the most vulnerable, including low-income and undocumented New Yorkers, and abusing the imbalance power to line their pockets. “

Wage theft in New York City accounts for about $1 billion in lost wages each year, affecting tens of thousands of workers, according to the District Attorney’s Office, citing the Workers’ Institute at Cornell University. The new fund now has $100,000 to give these workers back some of their money, because currently, even if they sue and win, they still won’t get paid.

“We are looking not only to hold accountable, but also to recover lost wages,” Bragg said.

The newly created unit is an evolution of the Construction Fraud Task Force, which will now become part of the Worker Protection Unit.

This division will allow prosecutors to focus on additional industries with high levels of alleged worker exploitation, such as home healthcare, fast food, restaurants, hotels and others. According to the district prosecutor’s office, prosecutors have already engaged in the theft of wages in the field of construction and real estate development.

In addition, the unit will also enforce workplace safety laws, including prosecuting employers who create unsafe working conditions, bringing charges of reckless endangerment and manslaughter against them.

The creation of this division aims to address an issue that is not currently supported by state law. New York State does not consider wage theft to be property theft, which means prosecutors cannot bring charges of theft against those involved in the theft of wages.

According to the District Attorney’s Office, at present, individuals and businesses that steal wages from workers typically face a fraudulent scheme, which is an offense under state law. The recently introduced bill aims to address this issue and make it a criminal offence.