NYC Sets Aside Funds to Support Legal Services in Wage-Theft Cases
The New York City Council has set aside $2.5 million to support legal service providers in the city representing workers who say they have fallen victim to wage theft, which by some estimates results in $1 billion in lost wages each year.
June 18, 2018 at 05:16 PM
2 minute read
More than 300,000 workers experience at least one wage-related labor or employment law violation each week, a study found. Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
The New York City Council has set aside $2.5 million to support legal service providers in the city representing workers who say they have fallen victim to wage theft, which by some estimates results in $1 billion in lost wages each year.
The city will use the funds, included in the city's budget for its 2018-19 fiscal year, to support legal service providers like the Legal Aid Society in representing workers who were paid below minimum wage or cheated on overtime—disputes that might get passed up by private law firms, especially in cases involving low-income litigants, said City Councilman Rory Lancman, who chairs the council's Courts and Legal Services Committee.
The money will also be used to support organizations representing workers in discrimination cases and in issues regarding workplace safety and to assist workers in their efforts to organize for collective bargaining.
“Wage theft and workplace safety violations are rampant in this city,” Lancman said, noting that wage theft issues tend to disproportionately affect immigrants, communities of color and the less-educated.
According to a 2010 study by the National Employment Law Project, more than 300,000 workers experience at least one wage-related labor or employment law violation each week.
The extra money comes as the state Attorney General's Office and District Attorney's Offices in New York City, Westchester County and on Long Island have gotten tougher on wage theft and other employment law violations, particularly in the construction industry.
In December, the offices issued a joint statement with the New York City Comptroller's Office, the city's Department of Investigation and the state's Labor Department in which they said they would work together to investigate wage theft.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Courts Beginning to Set Standards for Evidence Relying Upon Artificial Intelligence
4 minute read
NY Judge Admonished Over Contributions to Progressive Political Causes
Attorneys ‘On the ‘Move: Morrison Cohen Expands White Collar Practice; O’Melveny Brings Back Corporate Finance Partner
6 minute readTrending Stories
- 1'It's Not Going to Be Pretty': PayPal, Capital One Face Novel Class Actions Over 'Poaching' Commissions Owed Influencers
- 211th Circuit Rejects Trump's Emergency Request as DOJ Prepares to Release Special Counsel's Final Report
- 3Supreme Court Takes Up Challenge to ACA Task Force
- 4'Tragedy of Unspeakable Proportions:' Could Edison, DWP, Face Lawsuits Over LA Wildfires?
- 5Meta Pulls Plug on DEI Programs
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
