Bill Text: NY A06672 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes a living wage rate for emergency medical services personnel; $15 per hour beginning December 1, 2020 to be adjusted yearly; civil action authorized.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to labor [A06672 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A06672-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6672 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 14, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. STECK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to establishing a living wage rate for emergency medical services personnel The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new article 19-D to 2 read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 19-D 4 LIVING WAGE RATE FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES PERSONNEL 5 Section 696-a. Definitions. 6 696-b. Living wage rate for emergency medical services person- 7 nel. 8 696-c. Payment of living wage. 9 696-d. Implementation. 10 696-e. Commissioner's powers of investigation. 11 696-f. Civil action. 12 § 696-a. Definitions. As used in this article: 13 1. "Emergency medical services personnel" means the personnel of a 14 service or agency or municipality or fire district engaged in providing 15 initial emergency medical assistance, including but not limited to first 16 responders, emergency medical technicians, advanced emergency medical 17 technicians and personnel engaged in providing health care at correc- 18 tional facilities, as that term is defined in subdivision four of 19 section two of the correction law. 20 2. "Employer" means a service, agency, municipality, municipality or 21 fire district engaged in providing initial emergency medical assistance. 22 3. "Employee" means the personnel of a service or agency or munici- 23 pality or fire district engaged in providing initial emergency medical 24 assistance, including but not limited to first responders, emergency 25 medical technicians, advanced emergency medical technicians and person- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD06022-01-9A. 6672 2 1 nel engaged in providing health care at correctional facilities, as that 2 term is defined in subdivision four of section two of the correction 3 law. 4 § 696-b. Living wage rate for emergency medical services personnel. 5 1. Beginning on December first, two thousand twenty, the living wage 6 rate for emergency medical services personnel shall be an hourly rate of 7 fifteen dollars. 8 2. No later than January first of each successive year, the commis- 9 sioner shall calculate and establish an adjusted living wage rate by 10 increasing the then current living wage rate by the rate of inflation 11 for the most recent twelve month period available prior to each January 12 first using the Consumer Price Index-All Urban Consumers, CPI-U, or a 13 successor index as calculated by the United States department of labor, 14 if such rate of inflation is greater than zero percent, or, if greater, 15 such other wage as may be established by federal law pursuant to 29 16 U.S.C. section 206 or its successors or such other wage as may be estab- 17 lished in accordance with the provisions of this article. 18 § 696-c. Payment of living wage. 1. An employer shall pay employees an 19 hourly wage of no less than the living wage rate for each hour that the 20 employee works within the geographic boundaries of the state. 21 2. The provisions of this section may be waived by the written terms 22 of a bona fide collective bargaining agreement. 23 § 696-d. Implementation. 1. By December first of each year, the state 24 shall publish and make available to applicable employers a bulletin 25 announcing the adjusted living wage and benefits rate for the upcoming 26 year, which shall take effect on January first. 27 2. By December first of each year, the state shall publish and make 28 available to applicable employers, in English and Spanish, and on-line, 29 a notice suitable for posting in the workplace informing employees of 30 the current living wage and of their rights under this article. 31 3. Every applicable employer shall post in a conspicuous place at any 32 workplace or job site where an emergency medical services personnel 33 works the notice published each year by the agency informing employees 34 of the current living wage and of their rights under this article. 35 4. Employers shall retain payroll records pertaining to employees for 36 a period of four years. Employers shall permit an employee or an 37 employee's designated representative to inspect the employer's payroll 38 pertaining to the employee. 39 § 696-e. Commissioner's powers of investigation. The commissioner or 40 his or her authorized representative shall have power to: 41 1. investigate the wages of employees in the state; 42 2. enter the place of business or employment of the employer for the 43 purpose of: 44 (a) examining and inspecting any and all books, registers, payrolls 45 and other records that in any way relate to or have a bearing upon the 46 wages paid to, or the hours worked by an employee; and 47 (b) ascertaining whether the provisions of this article and the order 48 and regulations promulgated hereunder are being complied with; and 49 3. require from any employer full and correct statements and reports 50 in writing, at such times as the commissioner may deem necessary, of the 51 wages paid to and the hours worked by his or her employees. 52 § 696-f. Civil action. 1. If any employee is paid by his or her 53 employer less than the wage to which he or she is entitled under the 54 provisions of this article, he or she shall recover in a civil action 55 the amount of any such underpayments, together with costs, all reason- 56 able attorneys' fees, prejudgment interest as required under the civilA. 6672 3 1 practice law and rules, and unless the employer proves a good faith 2 basis to believe that its underpayment of wages was in compliance with 3 the law, an additional amount as liquidated damages equal to one hundred 4 percent of the total of such underpayments found to be due. Any agree- 5 ment between the employee, and the employer to work for less than such 6 wage shall be no defense to such action. 7 2. On behalf of any employee paid less than the wage to which the 8 employee is entitled under the provisions of this article, the commis- 9 sioner may bring any legal action necessary, including administrative 10 action, to collect such claim, and the employer shall be required to pay 11 the full amount of the underpayment, plus costs, and unless the employer 12 proves a good faith basis to believe that its underpayment was in 13 compliance with the law, an additional amount as liquidated damages. 14 Liquidated damages shall be calculated by the commissioner as no more 15 than one hundred percent of the total amount of underpayments found to 16 be due the employee. In any action brought by the commissioner in a 17 court of competent jurisdiction, liquidated damages shall be calculated 18 as an amount equal to one hundred percent of underpayments found to be 19 due the employee. 20 3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an action to recover 21 upon a liability imposed by this article must be commenced within six 22 years. The statute of limitations shall be tolled from the date an 23 employee files a complaint with the commissioner or the commissioner 24 commences an investigation, whichever is earlier, until an order to 25 comply issued by the commissioner becomes final, or where the commis- 26 sioner does not issue an order, until the date on which the commissioner 27 notifies the complainant that the investigation has concluded. Investi- 28 gation by the commissioner shall not be a prerequisite to nor a bar 29 against a person bringing a civil action under this article. 30 4. In any civil action by an employee or by the commissioner, the 31 employee or commissioner shall have the right to collect attorneys' fees 32 and costs incurred in enforcing any court judgment. Any judgment or 33 court order awarding remedies under this section shall provide that if 34 any amounts remain unpaid upon the expiration of ninety days following 35 issuance of judgment, or ninety days after expiration of the time to 36 appeal and no appeal therefrom is then pending, whichever is later, the 37 total amount of judgment shall automatically increase by fifteen 38 percent. 39 § 2. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part 40 of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to 41 be invalid and after exhaustion of all further judicial review, the 42 judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, 43 but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, para- 44 graph, section or part of this act directly involved in the controversy 45 in which the judgment shall have been rendered. 46 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 47 have become a law.
