Did you know that some of the remedies available under this the New York State Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (N.Y.S. WARN) include economic damages (back pay at an employee’s final pay rate or at the average regular pay rate for the past 36 months, whichever is higher, or the value of lost benefits, such as medical expenses or any other types of benefits available under their plan)?
However, there is no applicable state law through which a prevailing party may recover compensatory and/or punitive damages under the New York State Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. Nonetheless, although a prevailing plaintiff may recover reasonable attorney’s costs and fees as deemed just, equitable, and proper by a court of competent jurisdiction, we also noted that neither any court nor the Commissioner of Labor could enjoin a mass layoff, relocation, or plant closing.
To move this discussion forward, this blog post is a review of the remedies available under this act and as codified under N.Y. Lab. Law §§ 860 et seq.
Remedies Available under Employee Privacy Protection Laws of New York
For starters, employee privacy protection laws generally regulate and control the procedures and rules by which businesses collect, use, or disclose the personal information or data of prospective, current, or former employees. In our blog post titled “N.Y. Law on Employee Privacy & Company Devices in the Workplace,” we noted that pursuant to N.Y. Penal Law §§ 250.00, 250.05, employers in New York are prohibited from recording confidential conversations, mechanically eavesdropping on an employee, or accessing or intercepting electronic communications of employees. We also added that, however, N.Y. Penal Law 250.00 provides exceptions, especially when another party or the employee has consented to the communication or when the employer is a party to the same.
We also asserted that while employees should be aware that communications that take place via the equipment of a business or company belong to the business or company and, thus, the employer has the right of monitoring, accessing, or storing it and that employers have the right of monitoring their workplaces, particularly regarding communications taking place over company or business equipment, employers are prohibited, as codified under N.Y. Lab. Law § 203-c, from videotaping employees in places designated for the purposes of changing or as locker rooms and/or restrooms.
With regard to these legal provisions, if an employer invades an employee’s privacy and violates any of the protections, the law provides a number of remedies to the aggrieved party, as discussed below.
Economic Damages
Firstly, pursuant to N.Y. Lab. Law § 203-c(3)(a), an aggrieved employee may be awarded damages by the court.
Compensatory Damages
Secondly, however, there is no applicable state law through which an aggrieved employee may recover compensatory damages under the Employee Privacy Protection Laws.
Punitive Damages
Thirdly, even if an employer is found to have violated N.Y. Lab. Law § 203-c, no punitive damages can be recovered by the aggrieved employee. See Conroy v. Inc. Vil. of Freeport, 984 N.Y.S.2d 819, 824 (Sup. Ct. 2014).
Attorney’s Fees and Costs
Fourthly, pursuant to N.Y. Lab. Law § 203-c(3)(a), the prevailing plaintiff may recover reasonable attorney’s costs and fees as deemed just, equitable, and proper by a court of competent jurisdiction.
Injunctive Relief
Last but not least, pursuant to N.Y. Lab. Law § 203-c(3)(b), an aggrieved employee may be awarded injunctive relief by a court, which is aimed at restraining and prohibiting further invasion of employee privacy.
“Other” Remedies
Finally, there is no applicable state law through which an aggrieved employee may recover “other” remedies under the Employee Privacy Protection Laws.
In Part X of the series and our blog post titled “Remedies Available under Laws Regulating the Payment of Wages,” we will review and discuss the various remedies available under major New York laws through which the payment of wages is regulated and governed pursuant to N.Y. Lab. Law §§ 190 et seq. You do not want to miss this one because the payment of wages (particularly as it concerns the minimum wage if you work in New York City) is still a highly contentious issue in the state, especially now that businesses are picking up speed in their recovery from several months of total business shutdowns following the COVID-19 pandemic.
As usual, stay tuned for more legal guidance, training, and education. In the meantime, if you have any questions or comments, please let us know on the Contact Us page!
Always Rising Above the Bar,
Isaac T.,
Legal Writer, Author, & Publisher.