On December 10th, the New York State Department of Labor’s (DOL) Commissioner Patricia Smith, announced in a joint press conference [video here] with the Tompkins County Workers’ Center and Ithaca Mayor Carolyn Peterson, the findings of a targeted DOL investigation of 22 Tompkins County restaurants.  In May 2009, investigators from the DOL’s Division of Labor Standards and Unemployment Insurance found that five of the restaurants – 23 percent – were in full compliance with labor laws.  However, the other 17 restaurants – 77 percent of those visited – were found to have violated New York State Labor Laws.  Specifically, the DOL found that $87,925 is owed to 93 employees at 6 restaurants for violations such as failure to pay minimum wage and illegal deductions from workers’ paychecks.  Commissioner Smith said:

I’m encouraged by the fact that almost one-quarter of the restaurants we checked were in full compliance with labor laws.  To them I say thank you – thank you for treating your workers fairly and thank you for playing by the rules.  Ultimately, a level playing field helps all New Yorkers – workers and

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