N.Y. General Business Law 1414 – Violations
* § 1414. Violations. 1. The attorney general shall be authorized to investigate complaints regarding a violation of this article and provide appropriate remedies. Whenever the attorney general shall believe from evidence satisfactory to them that any hiring party has engaged in or is about to engage in any of the acts or practices stated to be unlawful they may bring an action in the name and on behalf of the people of the state of New York to enjoin such unlawful acts or practices and to obtain restitution for one or more freelance workers of any moneys or property obtained directly or indirectly by any such unlawful acts or practices. In such action preliminary relief may be granted under Article 63 of the civil practice law and rules. In such action a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars for a first violation, two thousand dollars for a second violation or three thousand dollars for a third or subsequent violation may be sought by the attorney general.
Terms Used In N.Y. General Business Law 1414
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Freelance worker: means any natural person or organization composed of no more than one natural person, whether or not incorporated or employing a trade name, that is hired or retained as an independent contractor by a hiring party to provide services in exchange for an amount equal to or greater than eight hundred dollars, either by itself or when aggregated with all contracts for services between the same hiring party and freelance worker during the immediately preceding one hundred twenty days, but does not include:
(a) any person who, pursuant to the contract at issue, is a sales representative as defined in § 191-a of the labor law;
(b) any person engaged in the practice of law pursuant to the contract at issue and who is a member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of any state, possession, territory, commonwealth or the District of Columbia and who is not under any order of court suspending, enjoining, restraining, disbarring or otherwise restricting such person in the practices of law;
(c) any person who is a licensed medical professional; or
(d) any person who is a construction contractor. See N.Y. General Business Law 1410 - Hiring party: means any person who retains a freelance worker to provide any service, other than:
(a) the United States government;
(b) the state of New York, including any office, department, agency, authority or other body of the state including the legislature and the judiciary;
(c) a municipality, including any office, department, agency or other body of a municipality; or
(d) any foreign government. See N.Y. General Business Law 1410 - Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
- Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
2. (a) A freelance worker alleging a violation of this article may bring an action in any court of competent jurisdiction for damages.
(b) Any action alleging a violation of section fourteen hundred twelve of this article shall be brought within two years after the acts alleged to have violated this article occurred.
(c) Any action alleging a violation of section fourteen hundred eleven of this article or section fourteen hundred thirteen of this article shall be brought within six years after the acts alleged to have violated this article occurred.
(d) Within ten days after having commenced a civil action pursuant to this subdivision, a plaintiff shall serve a copy of the complaint upon an authorized representative of the attorney general. Failure to so serve a complaint does not adversely affect any plaintiff's cause of action.
(e) A plaintiff who solely alleges a violation of section fourteen hundred twelve of this article must prove that such plaintiff requested a written contract before the contracted work began.
3. (a) A plaintiff who prevails on a claim alleging a violation of section fourteen hundred eleven of this article shall be awarded damages as described in this section and an award of reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.
(b) (i) A plaintiff who prevails on a claim alleging a violation of section fourteen hundred twelve of this article shall be awarded statutory damages of two hundred fifty dollars.
(ii) A plaintiff who prevails on a claim alleging a violation of one or more claims under provisions of this article shall be awarded statutory damages equal to the value of the underlying contract for the violation in addition to the remedies specified in this article for such other violations.
(c) In addition to other damages awarded pursuant to this article, a plaintiff who prevails on a claim alleging a violation of section fourteen hundred eleven of this article is entitled to an award of double damages, injunctive relief, and other such remedies as may be appropriate.
(d) In addition to any other damages awarded pursuant to this article, a plaintiff who prevails on a claim alleging a violation of section fourteen hundred thirteen of this article is entitled to statutory damages equal to the value of the underlying contract for each violation arising under such section.
4. Nothing in this section prohibits:
(a) a person alleging a violation of this article from filing a civil action based on the same facts as a civil action commenced by the attorney general pursuant to this section; or
(b) the attorney general from sending a notice of complaint, unless otherwise barred from doing so.
5. In any civil action commenced pursuant to this section, the trier of fact may impose a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars for a finding that a hiring party has engaged in a pattern or practice of violations of this article. Any civil penalty so recovered shall be paid into the general fund.
* NB Effective August 28, 2024