Whenever politicians want something they start talking about “small business” but what they really do FOR small business never seems to make sense, at least if they really want to help. Rather, I suspect politicians and the bureaucrats that benefit from everything government actually does are being disingenuous at the very least. If you are of the conspiracy theory mindset, there’s a viable option there too.
New York State is arguably one of the most challenging environments from which to be a small business owner in the United States today. Add a good measure of paperwork and taxes to whatever the federal government requires in the way of reports, filings, and payments. Add to that one of the dumbest added requirements of the day … the “New York State Department of Labor Wage Theft Prevention Act”.
I won’t bore anyone with the details but the shorthand description of this piece of asinine legislation is that the employer has to document in writing (and have the employee initial) what someone’s wages are. I can only think of two viable situations where this would provide anyone with information from their employer that they don’t already know; they are really dumb or they are hindered by language or handicap in some way that prevents them from understanding what they were told their job will pay when they accepted it.
Clearly most people know what they are supposed to be paid and whether or not they are actually being paid correctly. There are already wage reporting requirements and if the employer isn’t crooked to begin with they have to file W2 forms.
Of course if you are too busy trying to actually make a living from your small business and making sure you can pay any employees, you can be fined for forgetting about this added paperwork.
