Tag Archives: new york state

New Ruling Protects NYS Workers Paid Via Prepaid Debit Cards

Approximately 200,000 workers get paid via debit cards and have long suffered from the fees that come along with them. From ATM withdrawal fees to charges for paper statements and even inactivity fees, these extra charges add up — and can be have a big impact on workers’ take-home pay.

Now, thanks to new rules released last week, employees can breathe a sigh of relief: starting in early 2017, employees will have the ability to make unlimited withdrawals at no charge from at least one ATM that’s located at a “reasonable travel distance” from their work or home.

From the New York Times:

The rules also prohibit a host of incremental fees, including charges for monthly maintenance, account inactivity, overdrafts, checking a card’s balance or contacting customer service.

Companies will have to offer their workers the option of being paid either by cash or check, if they prefer — employers will not be allowed to require that employees accept a payroll card. Federal regulations already prohibit such requirements, but worker advocates say the rule is routinely flouted.

This marks an important development for the retail and service workers who are, increasingly, finding themselves paid by payroll cards rather than checks.

Read more at the New York Times.

Photo by InfoCash via flickr (CC-ND)

State Workers Sucker-Punched in Fight for $15 Proposal

Workers in New York State have reason to be excited: Governor Andrew Cuomo has taken steps toward raising the statewide minimum wage to $15. To many, this might seem like an obvious victory for workers and activists who have been engaged in the long fight for $15/hr. But, as Henry Garrido, executive director of DC 37 — New York City’s largest public-sector union — argues in City & State, it might not be quite the win that it appears to be:

Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently called for raising New York’s minimum wage to $15, which, if enacted, would be the highest statewide minimum wage in the country.

“It’s wrong to have any economy where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, where the American dream of mobility and opportunity has become more of a cruel myth,” Cuomo declared in announcing the plan.

Indeed, at a time when workers throughout the country have been plagued by stagnant wages, the “Fight for $15” is a worthy battle that deserves all of our support. Continue reading State Workers Sucker-Punched in Fight for $15 Proposal

Roberta Reardon Named NYS Labor Commissioner

Roberta Reardon, who teaches the Union Leadership course at Murphy, has been appointed as New York State Commissioner of Labor. The Department of Labor is tasked with overseeing state labor regulations, unemployment, and workforce training initiatives.

 Commissioner Reardon is the founding co-President of SAG-AFTRA, a 165,000 member union for the entertainment industry. She is the three-term unanimously elected National President of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA). Reardon also has over thirty-five years of experience as professional actor and has appeared on television and regional and off-Broadway theater.

Her extensive experience in labor negotiations and leadership development made her an ideal fit for the Murphy Labor Studies program. This past spring, Professor Reardon taught the Union Leadership course to CSEA rank-and-file leaders as a part of the CUNY-Cornell Labor Relations Certificate program. She was so popular among her students that on the last night of class, they awarded her an “Oscar” for best teacher.

Congratulations Commissioner Reardon!

Positions with New York State Assembly Ways and Means Committee (Albany, New York)

The Ways and Means Committee of the New York State Assembly is responsible for all proposed legislation dealing with state revenues and disbursements and with state and local finance. This committee is served by a full-time professional staff which consists mainly of budget and fiscal/economic analysts. These analysts should possess both strong writing and research skills. Entry-level positions in this Committee are:

Legislative Fiscal Analyst/Economist– Assists in the provision of technical information and policy analysis on assigned bill areas; assists in the development, implementation and monitoring of econometric and statistical models to forecast State revenues.

Legislative Budget Analyst – Analyzes and assists in the preparation of recommendations concerning the Governor’s proposed budget; assists in the negotiation of budget bill copy and memoranda for consideration; and orally presents bills at Committee meetings and answers questions posed by Members regarding proposed legislation.

In most cases, MPA, MA or MS degrees preferred. Some positions are available at Bachelor’s degree level.

Please send a cover letter and resumé to Marea Wright: wrightm@assembly.state.ny.us

From Fast Food to Nonprofits: $15/hr in NYS

As New York State moves towards a $15/hr wage floor for fast food workers, some are asking: are fast food workers enough? In City & State this week, James Parrott and Jennifer Jones-Austin (Opinion: The Importance of a $15 Wage Floor for New York’s Nonprofits) argue for a wage increase for “[t]he 250,000 workers in New York’s nonprofit sector providing essential human services.” They write:

Over 80 percent of these workers are women, most are not represented by a labor union, and nearly two-fifths have at least a 4-year bachelor’s degree (twice the share as in fast food).

Yet half of this workforce makes less than $15 an hour. That’s not nearly enough to provide for basic family budget needs in any part of our state. Like fast-food workers, the earnings of many human services workers are so low that they qualify for public assistance.

Human services pay, they note, is directly linked to state allocations for human service contract funding. They write:

It makes good fiscal sense for the state to increase human services contract funding to raise the pay of low-paid nonprofit workers. High employee turnover will decline, yielding hiring costs savings and improved service quality. After all, many of these government-funded services are intended to help low-income families get back on their feet and to better care for their children and other family members. Improved delivery of these essential services will save taxpayers in the long run, as will the reduced use of public assistance by nonprofit workers.

For the full piece, visit City & State.

Photo by The All-Nite Images via flickr (CC-BY-SA).

Still No Deal on NYC Rent Regulations

NYC’s rent stabilization regulations are set to expire today. These regulations affect over two million New Yorkers, regulating over one million apartments. The hold up? Why Albany, of course.

Although NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio has warned landlords not to take advantage of the confusion arising from the expiration of these laws by attempting to illegally raise rents or harass tenants, Albany’s failure to come to a decision around such a fundamental aspect of the lives of so many New Yorkers is cause for concern.

Jeff Mays at DNAInfo provides a three step plan for New Yorkers if the laws do, in fact, expire: sit tight, call 311 if you’re being harassed, and, finally, “don’t bank on the rent laws changing that much.”

Photo by Ianqui Doodlie via flickr (CC-BY-NC-ND).