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New York State Department of Labor

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Department of Labor
Department overview
JurisdictionNew York
HeadquartersBuilding 12,
W.A. Harriman Campus,
Albany, NY 12240
Department executive
  • Roberta Reardon, Commissioner of Labor
Key document
Websitewww.labor.ny.gov

The New York State Department of Labor (DOL or NYSDOL) is the department of the New York state government that enforces labor law and administers unemployment benefits.[1][2]

The mission of the New York State Department of Labor is to protect workers, assist the unemployed and connect job seekers to jobs, according to its website.[1] It works to ensure a fair wage for all workers, protect the safety and health of workers and the public, help the unemployed via temporary payments (unemployment insurance), link job seekers with employers, and guide workers to training.[1] Its regulations are compiled in title 12 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations.

The NYS Department of Labor of today came as a direct result of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, which took place on March 25, 1911.[3]

Adequacy of wages

July 2013 Fight for $15 protest

The commissioner can investigate whether minimum wages are sufficient for adequate maintenance and health.[4] The commissioner shall investigate upon the petition of fifty or more residents in one or more occupations. If minimum wages are insufficient in the commissioner's opinion, they shall appoint a wage board. Wage boards are divided equally amongst employer, employee, and general public representatives and are empowered to issue subpoenas for hearings and investigations.[5]

To guide assessment of statutory minimum wage adequacy, indicators commonly used at international level include comparing the gross minimum wage to 60% of the gross median wage and 50% of the gross average wage.[6] Unemployment Insurance (UI) tax reports provide the samples for federal OEWS and QCEW data, but gig workers (e.g. in the platform economy) are typically classified as independent contractors and therefore not included in those or other federal data.[7] The Research and Statistics Division maintains the monthly statewide "cost of labor index" and annual multi-county "labor market composite wage rate".[8] Every employer must maintain six years of payroll records for covered employees containing contemporaneous data for each week worked: hours worked, rates of pay, gross wages, deductions, allowances claimed as part of the minimum wage, and net wages.[9]

History

1900s–1910s

Inception/Beginnings (1901)

On February 7, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Department of Factory Inspection and the Board of Mediation and Arbitration consolidated to form the New York State Department of Labor, headed by an Industrial Commissioner of Labor.

1910s

In 1913, reorganization of the Department of Labor led to the creation of the Industrial Board, an advisory board tasked with increasing awareness of and enforcing the NYS Industrial Code, a set of rules and regulations with the force of law that affects the health, safety and comfort of workers. This Board made the Department of Labor an administrative as well as a regulatory agency. The Division for Industrial Hygiene, for technical research, was also established at this time.

On July 11, 1913, thirty-three women and two men lost their lives in the Binghamton Clothing Company Fire. The Triangle and Binghamton tragedies gave impetus to labor legislation, and the State Constitution was amended on November 4 to permit a Workmen’s Compensation Law.

The NYS Legislature consolidated the Workmen’s Compensation Commission with the NYS Department of Labor in 1915. A five-member Industrial Commission, headed by an Industrial Commissioner, was appointed to run the Department, replacing the Commissioner of Labor, the Industrial Board, and the Workmen’s Compensation Commission.

The Industrial Commission created the Bureau of Women in Industry, the precursor to the modern Division of Labor Standards, in 1918.

1920s to 1950s

1920s

In 1921, the NYS Legislature reorganized the Department of Labor, placing quasi-judicial and legislative powers in an Industrial Board and assigning administrative matters to a single Industrial Commissioner.

An amendment to the State Constitution in 1926 reorganized the more than 180 scattered departments, bureaus, boards and commissioners of State government into 18 departments, one of which was the Department of Labor.

In 1929, Frances Perkins was named New York State Commissioner of Labor.

1930s

In 1933, the Prevailing Rates of Wage amendment to the NYS Labor Law charged the Industrial Commissioner with determining wages to be paid on all public works of the State (except those done for a city). In the same year, Frances Perkins was appointed United States Secretary of Labor by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, becoming the first woman named as a federal cabinet official.

After the Social Security Act of 1935 authorized unemployment insurance for the jobless, NYS DOL created the Division of Unemployment Insurance, which soon merged with the State Employment Service.

In 1937, the rule-making and variance-granting power of the DOL's Industrial Board was transferred to the Board of Standards and Appeals. The Industrial Board retained jurisdiction only in workmen’s compensation cases. The Labor Relations Board was established at this time to supervise labor-management relations, and the State Board of Mediation was set up to mediate settlements in labor disputes, carrying on services that had been provided since 1886. Also in 1937, New York passed a minimum wage law protecting women and minors.

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 set a national minimum wage standard and a forty hour work week, and in this same year, an amendment to the New York State Constitution established a "Bill of Rights" for working people. The Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board (UIAB) was also established in 1938, to hear appeals from claimants or employers dissatisfied with departmental administrative determinations.[10]

1940s

In January 1942, for the duration of World War II, the President of the United States absorbed the New York State Employment Service into the National Manpower Program.

In 1944, New York State’s Minimum Wage Law was amended to include men.

In 1945, the NYS Industrial Board was replaced by the Workmen’s Compensation Board.

The National Manpower Program ended in 1946, and control of the Employment Service was returned to New York State. Also in this year, New York first passed laws regulating the hours which minors could work during non-school hours.

1970s to 1990s

1970s

In 1971, both Unemployment Services and Manpower Services, formerly the part of the Division of Employment, became part of the Department of Labor.

The federal government passed the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA), under which allocation of funds is locally oriented, in 1973, and in 1974, NYSDOL began implementing the act in New York State.

In 1975, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) takes over enforcement of federal safety and health regulation in the private sector. The State Labor Department retains responsibility where no federal standards apply and enforces safety and health regulations in the public sector. Under contract with OSHA, DOL offers the On-site Consultation Program.[11]

In 1978, the Workmen's Compensation Board was renamed the Workers' Compensation Board, and the Board of Standards and Appeals was renamed the Industrial Board of Appeals.[12]

1980s

The Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) of 1982 replaced the CETA. The new law provided localities with federal funds for employment training.

In 1987, DOL began its regulation of asbestos control activities in the state.

1990s

In 1991, New York State became the first state in the U.S. to require both school and parental permission for teenagers to work past 10 p.m. In 1992, it also became the first state in the U.S. to establish enforceable guidelines to protect public employees against tuberculosis in the workplace.

The NYS Department of Labor debuted the first iteration of its website in 1995.

In an effort to reform Workers' Compensation, the NYS Legislature passed Governor George Pataki’s New York Employment, Safety and Security Act of 1996, which significantly reduced workers' compensation costs for employers.[13] Also at this time, “hot goods’ legislation prohibited sale or distribution of apparel produced in sweatshops.

In 1997, welfare reform legislation authorized DOL to administer New York Works, NYS's  $400-million welfare-to-work program, leading to the formation of the Welfare-To-Work Division, and DOL began testing Claims by Phone, which was the beginning of the current Unemployment Insurance Telephone Claims Centers.

2000s to present

2000s

New York State minimum wage was raised to $5.15 per hour and linked to federal minimum wage in 2000.[14]

In 2001, DOL completed the conversion of the Unemployment Insurance program from in-person filing to a new filing system using an Interactive Voice Response systems and a touch-tone phone. Additionally, UI applications went online through the department’s website.

In the wake of the September 11th terrorist attack, DOL mobilized to work with state, federal and NYC agencies to aid in the relief and recovery efforts. With $25 million in National Emergency Grant Funding, NYSDOL was able to provide essential services to victims and dislocated workers.

In 2005, the Department of Labor’s Apparel Industry Task Force was expanded into the Fair Wages Task Force, and its enforcement was expanded to include restaurants, laundries, grocery stores and gardening services. The Fair Wages Task Force was also created at this time, to investigate industries where wages were low and workers were likely to be exploited. In its first year of existence, the Fair Wage Task force completed more than 400 investigations and found more than $5.3 million due to nearly 5,100 underpaid workers.

In 2007, the final increment of the NYS Minimum Wage increase from $5.15 to $7.25, and Workers’ Compensation Reform took effect. NYS UI claimants were issued Direct Payment Cards for Unemployment Insurance benefits, and recipients also were given the option of receiving benefit payments via Direct Deposit, rather than via a Direct Payment Card. Also in 2007, the Bureau of Immigrant Workers’ Rights (now the Division of Immigrant Policies and Affairs) was created to address the growing needs of immigrant workers throughout the state.

In 2009, M. Patricia Smith, who later became the Solicitor of the United States Department of Labor, was the labor commissioner.

2010s to present

A New York State Department of Labor building in Brooklyn.

2010 saw the passage of both the NYS Construction Industry Fair Play Act, which made it illegal for an employer to misclassify employees as independent contractors or pay employees off the books, and the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, the first law of its kind in the nation.

In 2013, Governor Cuomo announced sweeping reforms to New York State's Workers Compensation and Unemployment Insurance programs, which were designed to save employers $1.2 billion.[15]

The NYS Commercial Goods Transportation Industry Fair Play Act went into effect in April 2014. This law created a new standard for determining whether a driver of commercial vehicles who transports goods is an employee or independent contractor.[16]

According to an audit released in June 2014 by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, the Department of Labor did not complete many of its wage theft investigations in a timely manner.[17] As of late August 2013, the DOL had more than 17,000 open cases, consisting of about 9,300 active investigations and more than 7,800 cases pending payment, and of these almost 13,000, or 75%, were at least one year old from initial claim date.[17] In 2013, the DOL had 142 employees statewide, including 85–90 investigators, handling the complaints.[18] By 2015, the caseload had been handled and 85% of investigations were being completed within 6 months.[19] In 2015 alone, the agency had distributed a record $31.5 million to victims of wage theft.[20]

In May 2015, acting labor commissioner Mario Musolino appointed a state wage board to investigate wages for fast food workers.[21][22] In July, the board issued a report recommending a $15-an-hour minimum wage for fast food workers, and in September 2015 acting commissioner Musolino issued an order accepting the recommendations.[23][24] Effective December 31, 2015, the department adopted amended codified regulations (12 NYCRR part 146) implementing the report and order.[25]

In 2015, Roberta Reardon, a former AFL–CIO and SAG-AFTRA official, was nominated as the state labor commissioner, and was confirmed by the Senate on June 15, 2016.[26][27]

In 2016, as part of the 2016–17 State Budget, Governor Cuomo signed legislation enacting a incremental statewide $15 minimum wage plan. On December 31, 2016, the first in a series of wage increases went into effect.[28]

In 2020, tip allowances for employees under the Miscellaneous Wage Order were reduced by 50% by end of June, and eliminated entirely by December 31 (for all industries except hospitality, farmworkers and building service).[29]

Commissioners

Portrait Name Years in Service
John McMackin 1901–1905
Philemon Tecumseh Sherman 1905–1906
John Williams 1907–1913
James M. Lynch 1913–1915
John Mitchell 1916–1919
Edward F. Boyle 1920
Henry D. Sayer 1921–1923
Bernard L. Shientag 1923–1924
James A. Hamilton 1925–1928
Frances Perkins 1929–1933
Elmer F. Andrews 1933–1938
Frieda S. Miller 1938–1942
Edward Corsi 1944–1954
Isador Lubin 1955–1958
Martin P. Catherwood 1959–1970
Louis L. Levine 1971–1976
Philip Ross 1976–1981
Lillian Roberts 1981–1986
Thomas F. Hartnett 1987-1911
John F. Hudacs 1991–1994
John E. Sweeney 1995–1997
James J. McGowan 1998–2000
Linda Angello 2001–2006
M. Patricia Smith 2007–2010
Colleen Gardner 2010–2012
Peter M. Rivera 2012–2014
Roberta Reardon 2014–present

References

  1. ^ a b c "About Us". New York State Department of Labor. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  2. ^ Labor Law § 10; "There shall continue to be in the state government a department of labor. The head of the department shall be the commissioner of labor. [...]"
  3. ^ "Our History". New York State Department of Labor.
  4. ^ Labor Law § 653
  5. ^ Russon Gilman, Hollie; Rahman, K.Sabeel (2019). Civic Power: Rebuilding American Democracy in an Era of Crisis. Cambridge University Press. pp. 198–200. ISBN 9781108386609.
  6. ^ Directive (EU) 2022/2041 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on adequate minimum wages in the European Union
  7. ^ Risher, Howard (13 February 2020). "The Gig Economy and BLS Surveys". Government Executive.
  8. ^ Labor Law § 21. 12 NYCRR §§ 1500.1 et seq.
  9. ^ Labor Law § 661
  10. ^ "Mission". Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  11. ^ "On-Site Consultation Program (pamphlet)". New York State Department of Labor. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  12. ^ "The New York State Worker's Compensation Board Centennial (booklet)". New York State Department of Labor. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  13. ^ "Analysis of the Reform Bill". www.wcb.ny.gov. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  14. ^ "History of the General Hourly Minimum Wage in New York State – New York State Department of Labor". labor.ny.gov. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  15. ^ "Governor Cuomo Details $1.2 Billion in Savings Resulting from Major Reforms to Workers Compensation and Unemployment Insurance Included in Recently Enacted State Budget". Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. 2014-09-28. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  16. ^ "Commercial Goods Transportation Industry Fair Play Act – New York State Department of Labor". www.labor.ny.gov. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  17. ^ a b "DiNapoli: Labor Department Needs to Improve Wage Theft Investigations" (Press release). New York State Comptroller. June 6, 2014.
  18. ^ Bencosme, Melanie (November 14, 2013). "14,000 Wage Theft Cases Pending in NYS". Voices of NY.
  19. ^ "Budget Testimony".
  20. ^ "Budget Testimony".
  21. ^ McGeehan, Patrick (May 6, 2015). "Cuomo Moves to Raise Wages for New York Fast-Food Workers". The New York Times.
  22. ^ "Governor Cuomo Instructs State Labor Department to Convene Wage Board to Investigate and Make Recommendations on Raising Minimum Wage for Fast Food Workers" (Press release). New York State Department of Labor. May 7, 2015. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015.
  23. ^ McGeehan, Patrick (July 22, 2015). "New York Plans $15-an-Hour Minimum Wage for Fast Food Workers". The New York Times.
  24. ^ "Order of Acting Commissioner of Labor Mario J. Musolino on the Report and Recommendations of the Fast Food Wage Board" (Press release). New York State Department of Labor. September 10, 2015. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015.
  25. ^ "Fast Food Minimum Wage", New York State Register, Vol. XXXVII, Issue 42 (October 21, 2015), pp. 8-11, Rulemaking I.D. No. LAB-42-15-00003-P; Vol. XXXVII, Issue 51 (December 23, 2015), pp. 19, Rulemaking I.D. No. LAB-42-15-00003-A.
  26. ^ "Cuomo names AFL-CIO official his new labor commissioner". Retrieved 2015-10-04.
  27. ^ "Department of Labor Announces Senate Confirmation of Commissioner Reardon" (Press release). New York State Department of Labor. June 15, 2016.
  28. ^ "New York State's Minimum Wage". Welcome to the State of New York. 2016-09-20. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  29. ^ "Tips and Gratuities Frequently Asked Questions". New York State Department of Labor. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
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