Nys Labor Dept

Hiring Slows, but City's Jobless Rate Remains 8.6%

Hiring slowed in New York City last month, but the city’s unemployment rate held steady at 8.6 percent, the New York State Department of Labor reported Thursday.

Employers in the city added about 9,400 jobs in May, with many of the new positions created in hotels, restaurants and other businesses that benefit from tourism, according to a report on the department’s Web site. Employment in retail stores was weak in May because Easter came later than usual, postponing the post-holiday layoffs that normally occur in May, the report said.

Some industries that had accounted for a lot of the hiring in the city after the recession, including financial services, health care and education, all lost jobs in May, it said. Still, those industries added more than 28,000 jobs in the past 12 months, more than half of the 48,100 jobs the city gained over that period.

In the last year, the city’s private-sector employment has grown by 1.5 percent, slightly lower than the national job-growth rate of 1.7 percent. But the city’s unemployment rate remains lower than the national rate, which rose in May to 9.1 percent, from 9 percent. New York state’s unemployment rate in May was 7.9 percent.

Keith Hall , the commissioner of the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics , spoke in Manhattan on Thursday about labor-market conditions across the country. He pointed out that the national labor force has shrunk — especially among teenagers and young adults — as workers have become discouraged about their prospects of finding work, but he noted that New York City had been an exception to that trend.

“We’ve had a fairly large exodus from the labor force through this long, deep recession and the months since,” Mr. Hall said. “The longer you’re unemployed, the worse it is. We have this whole cohort of people who have graduated from high school and college and are not getting employed and have no experience.

NY Labor Dept. reaches $5.1 million settlement with “Lenny's ...

New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced that the New York State Department of Labor (DOL) has reached a $5.1 million settlement with New York City-based “Lenny’s: The Ultimate Sandwich” (Lenny’s) for minimum wage and overtime violations affecting over 800 workers. This settlement is the largest recorded settlement for workers in the DOL’s 110-year history.

“It is our duty to protect hard-working New Yorkers and ensure that they receive every dollar that they earn,” Governor Cuomo said. “This settlement –the largest recorded settlement for workers in the history of the Department of Labor –sends a strong message to employers that exploiting employees will not be tolerated in New York State. I thank the Department of Labor for their efforts on behalf of workers across the state.”

The DOL’s investigation over a period from 2002 to 2008 found that over 800 employees at the NY City-based sandwich chain were regularly paid less than the minimum wage and were not paid overtime wages. Employees worked 10 to 12 hours a day, six to seven days a week, at an average weekly salary of $275 per week. As required under the state’s minimum wage and overtime law, however, the workers should have been paid at least $500 per week for the same number of hours worked. In addition, time records kept by the employer were not accurate and wage statements were not provided to workers, as required by law.

As a result of this investigation, the DOL has reached a $5.1 million settlement with Lenny’s for wages, damages, and penalties. The DOL has received a $1 million down payment and Lenny’s will pay the remaining $4 million in full over the next twenty-four months. Lenny’s is paying $100,000 in penalties to the state. Employees will receive the first installment of their unpaid wages beginning in June 2011.

New York State’s minimum wage is now $7.25 per hour. Employers are required to pay overtime for weekly hours past 40 at 1.5 times the employee’s regular pay rate.

Source: New York State Department of Labor Press Release, June 14, 2011, http://www.labor.ny.gov/pressreleases/2011/june-14-2011.shtm .

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