(NEW YORK CITY) - Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., has announced the creation of the Office’s first-ever Worker Protection Unit to investigate and prosecute wage theft and other forms of Worker harassment and exploitation across Manhattan’s many industries.

Building on the success of the Office’s Construction Fraud Task Force, which will be part of the Worker Protection Unit, the Unit will pursue criminal charges against individuals and corporations that jeopardize their Workers’ safety and steal their wages. 

D.A. Bragg also announced the creation of a first-ever Stolen Wage Fund for Manhattan victims of wage theft, funded through the D.A.’s Criminal Justice Investment Initiative and operated in partnership with the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL).

Finally, in an effort to allow the Unit to bring appropriately strong charges against individuals and companies that cheat their Workers, D.A. Bragg joined New York State Assembly Member Catalina Cruz and State Senator Neil Breslin to support their Bill that would enable prosecutors to charge wage theft as larceny.

District Attorney Bragg said: “At the Manhattan D.A.’s Office, we’re holding accountable companies and executives that exploit their Workers, whether by jeopardizing their safety or stealing their wages.  The creation of the Office’s first-ever Worker Protection Unit is our latest move to stand up for hard-working New Yorkers.  Again and again, we see companies taking advantage of our most vulnerable populations, including low-income and undocumented New Yorkers, and abusing power imbalances to line their pockets.  Together with our partners in Law Enforcement, the Legislature, the community, and beyond, we will make sure Workers are treated fairly, and bad faith employers who violate the laws are held accountable for their crimes.”

NYSDOL Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said: “District Attorney Bragg’s new Worker Protection Unit and Stolen Wage Fund are welcomed tools in the Department of Labor’s continued efforts to protect all working New Yorkers.  We are proud to be working side-by-side with this new Unit to assure unscrupulous employers are held accountable and Workers recover their stolen wages.  I thank D.A. Bragg for continuing to be a strong partner in our joint pursuit of justice.”

Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) President Stuart Appelbaum said: “Too many Workers are subjected to wage theft every week, to the tune of ($20 million) to be exact - it’s a crime, and should be treated like one under law, plain and simple, and employers need to be held accountable.  Today’s announcement takes a major leap towards addressing the wage theft crisis at a time when Workers are struggling to keep up with growing inflation. District Attorney Bragg is setting in motion major reforms that will go a long way, not just in recovering stolen wages, but most importantly by protecting workers, regardless of their immigration status, from experiencing future abuses by aggressively prosecuting these bad actors.  We look forward to working with the DA’s new Worker Protection Unit to ensure Workers who’ve been targeted by unscrupulous employers utilize every means available for fighting back to recover their wages quickly and making their workplaces safer.”

Michael E. Hellstrom, Vice President and Eastern Regional Manager Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA), said: “New York’s Construction Industry is polluted with crooked contractors whose very business model is based on exploiting and stealing from the city’s most vulnerable Workers - Immigrants, People of Color and the formerly incarcerated.  I hope the word gets out to unscrupulous employers everywhere - continue to cheat Workers and prepare to find yourself either in jail or out of business.  I also hope the word gets out to the thousands of Workers who face exploitation and hardship on the job.  No longer do you have to work in fear in unsafe and unfair conditions.  D.A. Bragg’s Workers Protection Unit is committed to helping you and has the resources to back it up.  The (17,000)-Member Mason Tenders District Council is committed to helping D.A. Bragg and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office by supporting workers and identifying wage theft and worker exploration whenever and wherever it happens.” 

To Read This Labor News Story In Its Entirety, Go To: D.A. Bragg Announces Creation of Office’s First “Worker Protection Unit” to Combat Wage Theft, Protect New Yorkers From Unsafe Work Conditions – Manhattan District Attorney’s Office (manhattanda.org)