Westchester State Senator Andrea-Stewart-Cousins (35th District D/WF) announced today that the Wage Theft prevention Act, which she co-sponsored in the Senate, has been signed into law by Governor David Paterson.

The new law effectively expands workplace rights of employees by requiring employers to provide employees with necessary wage information and puts into place sanctions against employers who fail to propertly pay their workers full earned waves and overtime.

Studies have indicated that a large number of workers are earning less than the state-mandated minimum wage in New York and are not receiving the proper amount of overtime, when indicated.

The new measure raises the criminal penalties for those who fail to pay minimum wage to up to a year in prison and a $5,000 fine.

It also strengthens protections for whistleblowrs in wage violation cases and increases the amount of wages that can be recovered as damages in a suit for non-payment over and above the lost wages themselves-from 25% to 100%.