“No life, liberty, or property of man is safe while Congress is in session,” Manhattan Surrogate Judge Gideon Tucker wrote in 1866, and state Sen. Brad Hoylman and others still do so more than 150 years later. He continues to prove that he is right.
His current worst brainstorm is the so-called EmPIRE Act, which would “privatize” labor law enforcement by allowing anyone to file class-action lawsuits on behalf of alleged wage theft victims.
Rep. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan) and Rep. Joanne Simon (D-Brooklyn) say the state Department of Labor is too understaffed and underfunded to do the job.
So why not provide more funding and more staff?
We are very concerned about crime in general, but we do not advocate legalizing vigilante groups.
And certainly not wariness profitas this bill does: It’s a public invitation to tort lawyers to file lawsuits against small employers (or some large employers) in hopes of a large settlement. is.
New York is already home to a swarm of trial lawyer locusts running legal rackets in a variety of fields.
EmPIRE aims to emulate the Private Attorney General Act, a 20-year-old California law that created a wave of lawsuits that small businesses and nonprofits had little ability to fight. Reformers finally had a less insane replacement on the Golden State ballot this November.
Trial lawyers are not the only special interests that exploit EmPIRE. EmPIRE is also a gift to unions looking to organize specific stores or industries.
It’s no coincidence that unions and tort courts are two of Albany’s top sources of campaign contributions.
To be clear, even companies with healthy records would suffer under the EmPIRE Act, as already exorbitant liability insurance costs would rise even higher.
This will force some businesses with already thin profit margins (e.g., many fast food franchises) to close, resulting in the loss of low-wage jobs in the name of saving low-wage workers.
An Echelon poll of New Yorkers for Local Business found that only 32% of New Yorkers supported the bill’s well-explained intent.
New Yorkers know a scam when they see one. That’s why so much of Albany’s business happens behind the scenes.
And why is the state’s business environment becoming increasingly hostile and almost everything here no longer affordable?
Governor Hochul and moderate legislators need to push this bill now.
