Gladstein, Reif & Meginniss, LLP recently prevailed before the Western District of New York in a first-of-its-kind opinion interpreting recent amendments to New York Labor Law § 191(1)(a), the state’s pay frequency law. The decision is the latest development in Beh v. Community Care Companions, Inc., a federal wage-and-hour lawsuit in which GRM represents approximately 1,100 home care workers. In a report and recommendation issued on March 11, 2026, the court rejected the employer’s attempt to avoid liquidated damages based on 2025 changes to state law.
New York Labor Law requires that “manual workers” be paid weekly. The 2025 amendments were designed to limit liability for employers who paid manual workers every two weeks rather than every week. The employer argued that the amendments precluded the plaintiffs from seeking liquidated damages even when wages were underpaid.
The court disagreed. The judge explained that the legislative history shows the amendments were intended only to limit employer liability where workers were paid the correct amount but on a biweekly schedule. Moreover, nothing in the statute suggests that the legislature intended to reduce penalties for employers who fail to pay employees their full wages.
If adopted by the district court, the report and recommendation would stand for the important principle that paying workers some amount of money on payday does not excuse paying them less than they earned. Employees who are paid at the correct intervals but do not receive their full pay may still be entitled to recover their unpaid wages plus liquidated damages.
GRM partner Jessica E. Harris both wrote the brief and argued the motion in support of the plaintiffs. You can read Law360 reporting on GRM’s victory here. You can read the report and recommendation here.