NEW YORK — Two bills that aim to protect New Yorker's money by preventing wage theft and overdraft fees were signed into law on Thursday.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill that would prohibit wage theft by closing loopholes used to not pay wages. The "No Wage Theft Loophole Act" clarifies the current law that wage theft is illegal with no exceptions.
Previously, courts narrowly interpreted the law and ruled against workers.
"Hard working people deserve every cent they are owed - wage theft cannot and should not have any leg to stand on in our legal system," Cuomo said. "Solidifying the language in the state's labor law is crucial to ensuring courts don't have a chance to deny workers any payment they are owed. Wage theft is illegal in New York, period."
The second law signed aims to prevent overdraft fees by requiring banks pay checks in the order they receive them. If the bank receives a check for an amount higher than what is in the account, the bank can decline to pay the check. The bank must still pay other smaller checks that can still be paid out off the account balance.
Under the current law, when a bank receives a check for an amount that is more than what is in the account, that check and all remaining checks are dishonored.
