§ 680. Penalties. 1. Discrimination against employee. Any employer or his agent, or the officer or agent of any corporation, who discharges or in any other manner discriminates against any employee because such employee has made a complaint to his employer, or to the commissioner or his authorized representative, that he has not been paid in accordance with the provisions of this article, or because such employee has caused to be instituted a proceeding under or related to this article, or because such employee has testified or is about to testify in an investigation or proceeding under this article, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction be punished by a fine of not less than fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars.

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Terms Used In N.Y. Labor Law 680

  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Employee: includes any individual employed or permitted to work by an employer on a farm but shall not include: (a) domestic service in the home of the employer; (b) the parent, spouse, child or other member of the employer's immediate family; (c) a minor under seventeen years of age employed as a hand harvest worker on the same farm as his parent or guardian and who is paid on a piece-rate basis at the same piece rate as employees seventeen years of age or over; or (d) an individual employed or permitted to work for a federal, state, or a municipal government or political subdivision thereof. See N.Y. Labor Law 671
  • Employer: includes any individual, partnership, association, corporation, cooperative, business trust, legal representative, or any organized group of persons acting as an employer of an individual employed or permitted to work on a farm. See N.Y. Labor Law 671
  • Testify: Answer questions in court.
  • Wage: includes allowances in the amount determined in accordance with the provisions of this article for meals, lodging, and other items, service and facilities when furnished by the employer to his employees. See N.Y. Labor Law 671

2. Payment of less than minimum wage. Any employer or his agent, or the officer or agent of any corporation, who pays or agrees to pay to any employee less than the wage applicable under this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction be punished by a fine of not less than fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment of not less than ten nor more than ninety days or by both such fine and imprisonment, and each payment to any employee in any week of less than the wage applicable under this article shall constitute a separate offense.

3. Failure to keep records. Any employer or his agent, or the officer or agent of any corporation, who fails to keep the records required under this article or to furnish such records or any information required to be furnished under this article to the commissioner or his authorized representative upon request, or who hinders or delays the commissioner or his authorized representative in the performance of his duties in the enforcement of this article, or refuses to admit the commissioner or his authorized representative to any place of employment, or falsifies any such records or refuses to make such records accessible to the commissioner or his authorized representative, or refuses to furnish a sworn statement of such records or any other information required for the proper enforcement of this article to the commissioner or his authorized representative, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction be punished by a fine of not less than fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars, and each day's failure to keep the records required under this article or to furnish such records or information to the commissioner or his authorized representative shall constitute a separate offense.