What's happening
This bill requires employers to compensate employees for unused vacation pay upon termination and mandates minimum payouts for "granted time," with exceptions for collective bargaining agreements.
Why it matters
Strengthens worker protections by ensuring that employees must be compensated for any unused, accrued vacation pay when their employment ends, closing a common loophole that allowed employers to deny this payout.
Creates a new minimum payout standard for “granted time” (such as personal days or other non-accrued paid leave), requiring employers to pay at least two weeks’ wages upon termination, which can significantly benefit workers who do not accrue traditional vacation but receive leave on request.
Specifically excludes unionized workers under collective bargaining agreements from these requirements, preserving the ability of unions and employers to negotiate their own terms around vacation and leave payout.
Could impact employer policies statewide, making it harder for businesses to avoid paying out earned benefits at termination, thus increasing financial predictability and security for employees facing job loss or transition.
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Who cares
Employees with accrued vacation
The bill would bar agreements from denying compensation for accrued, unused vacation when the agreement ends, except for union-negotiated collective bargaining agreements.
Employers offering non-accruing, per-request benefits
The bill would require them to pay employees at least two weeks’ wages when those benefit agreements end, except for union-negotiated collective bargaining agreements.
Executive, administrative and professional employees earning over $900 a week
The bill would remove their exclusion from the section’s protections and penalties for unpaid benefits or wage supplements.
Labor unions
The bill would exempt collectively bargained agreements from the new vacation payout and granted-time payment requirements.
Headline styles
Guarantee Vacation Payouts
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to labor
- Referred to labor
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
7270
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 18, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. FAHY -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to benefits and supplemental wages
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 198-c of the labor law, as amended by chapter 328 of the laws of 1972 and subdivision 3 as amended by chapter 304 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows:
§ 198-c. Benefits or wage supplements. 1. In addition to any other penalty or punishment otherwise prescribed by law, any employer who is party to an agreement to pay or provide benefits or wage supplements to employees or to a third party or fund for the benefit of employees and who fails, neglects or refuses to pay the amount or amounts necessary to provide such benefits or furnish such supplements within thirty days after such payments are required to be made, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be punished as provided in section one hundred ninety-eight-a of this article. Where such employer is a corporation, the president, secretary, treasurer or officers exercising corresponding functions shall each be guilty of a misdemeanor.
2. As used in this section, the [term] following terms shall have the following meanings:
(a) "[benefits] Benefits or wage supplements" includes, but is not limited to, reimbursement for expenses; health, welfare and retirement benefits; and vacation, separation or holiday pay.
(b) "Granted time" shall mean benefits or wage supplements granted to an employee on a per-request basis and not accrued.
3. [This section shall not apply to any person in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity whose earnings are in excess of nine hundred dollars a week.] (a) No agreement to pay or provide benefits or wage supplements shall include a provision specify-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09702-02-9
A. 7270 2
ing that an employee will not be compensated for accrued, unused vacation pay upon the termination of such agreement. Any such provision shall be considered severable, and all other provisions of such agreement shall remain in effect and given full force.
(b) Any employer who is party to an agreement to pay or provide benefits or wage supplements to an employee through granted time shall pay such employee a minimum of the equivalent of two weeks' wages upon the termination of such agreement.
(c) The provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to agreements negotiated with any labor union through collective bargaining.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.