The question in this case is whether a private right of action exists under Labor Law § 198-b.
Labor Law § 198-b prohibits kickbacks in employment. Specifically, the provision states that “it shall be unlawful for any person . . . to request, demand, or receive” an employee’s wages or other thing of value “upon the statement, representation, or understanding that failure to comply with such request or demand will prevent such employee from procuring or retaining employment.” The provision states that “[a] violation of the provisions of this section shall constitute a misdemeanor.”
In this case, plaintiff was a teacher at a school run by members of an organization that promoted the teachings of Fetullah Gullen. According to plaintiff, the organization was a cult that repeatedly pressured him to make financial contributions. Plaintiff understood that he would lose his job if he failed to make those contributions, and so made more than six thousand dollars in donations to the organization over the course of about one year.
Based on these allegations, plaintiff sued the school and related entities, asserting among other things a claim for damages under Labor Law § 198-b. Supreme Court dismissed many of the claims in plaintiff’s complaint, but it sustained the claim under Labor Law § 198-b, finding that the provision created a private right of action. The Fourth Department disagreed on that point, concluding instead that “the legislature did not intend to create a private right of action for violations of Labor Law § 198-b.” This was in apparent conflict with the contrary decision Martinez v. Alubon, Ltd., 111 A.D.3d 500 (1st Dep’t 2013).
The Court of Appeals granted plaintiff leave to appeal.