On December 13, 2010, Governor Patterson signed the Wage Theft Prevention Act (“Act”) into law, which provides enhanced remedies and greater enforcement powers to prevent violations of New York wage laws. Under New York’s current wage statutes, an employer may be held civilly liable for the amount of wages withheld, plus damages equal to 25% of the owed wages. Another labor law provision requires that employers provide employees with notice of their rate and date of pay and to retain employment records for three years. (more…)