New York Sues Trump Administration for Records on Labor-Law Rollback

(Bloomberg) -- New York is suing the Trump administration to get information about a new program the state says may let employers go unpunished by the federal government for violating labor laws.

The U.S. Labor Department should be ordered to turn over information about the Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) Program, New York said in a complaint filed Monday in federal court in Manhattan. The program allegedly hinders states whose labor regulations are more stringent than federal law, particularly concerning allegations of wage theft.

“The PAID Program is nothing more than a get-out-of-jail-free card for predatory employers,” New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood said in the statement. “New York workers have a right to know why the Secretary of Labor decided to let employers off the hook when they don’t pay their workers."

The Labor Department has said the program is intended to help resolve potential overtime and minimum wage violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act quickly and without litigation.

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Larson in New York at elarson4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Peter Blumberg, Paul Cox

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