N.Y. Labor Law 198-A – Criminal penalties
§ 198-a. Criminal penalties. 1. Every employer who does not pay the wages of all of his employees in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, and the officers and agents of any corporation, partnership, or limited liability company who knowingly permit the corporation, partnership, or limited liability company to violate this chapter by failing to pay the wages of any of its employees in accordance with the provisions thereof, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor for the first offense and upon conviction therefor shall be fined not less than five hundred nor more than twenty thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than one year, and, in the event that any second or subsequent offense occurs within six years of the date of conviction for a prior offense, shall be guilty of a felony for the second or subsequent offense, and upon conviction therefor, shall be fined not less than five hundred nor more than twenty thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than one year plus one day, or punished by both such fine and imprisonment, for each such offense. An indictment of a person or corporation operating a steam surface railroad for an offense specified in this section may be found and tried in any county within the state in which such railroad ran at the time of such offense.
Terms Used In N.Y. Labor Law 198-A
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Employer: includes any person, corporation, limited liability company, or association employing any individual in any occupation, industry, trade, business or service. See N.Y. Labor Law 190
- Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- Wages: means the earnings of an employee for labor or services rendered, regardless of whether the amount of earnings is determined on a time, piece, commission or other basis. See N.Y. Labor Law 190
2. Every employer who violates or fails to comply with the requirements of subdivision four of section one hundred ninety-five of this article, and the officers and agents of any corporation, partnership, or limited liability company who knowingly permit the corporation, partnership, or limited liability company to violate or fail to comply therewith, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction therefor shall be fined not less than five hundred nor more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than one year.
3. Every employer who knowingly violates or fails to comply with the requirements of subdivision four of section one hundred ninety-five of this article, and the officers and agents of any corporation, partnership, or limited liability company who knowingly permit the corporation, partnership, or limited liability company to violate or fail to comply therewith, shall be guilty of a felony where such employer, officer or agent has been convicted of a violation of such subdivision within the previous six years, and upon conviction therefor shall be fined not less than five hundred nor more than twenty thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than one year plus one day, or punished by both such fine and imprisonment, for each such offense. In determining the penalty, the court shall consider the severity of the violation, the size of the employer, and the employer's good faith effort to comply with the requirements of subdivision four of section one hundred ninety-five of this article.