§ 5252 — Discrimination against employees and prospective employees based upon wage assignment or income execution

§ 5252. Discrimination against employees and prospective employees\nbased upon wage assignment or income execution. 1. No employer shall\ndischarge, lay off, refuse to promote, or discipline an employee, or\nrefuse to hire a prospective employee, because one or more wage\nassignments or income executions have been served upon such employer or\na former employer against the employee's or prospective employee's wages\nor because of the pendency of any action or judgment against such\nemployee or prospective employee for nonpayment of any alleged\ncontractual obligation. In addition to being subject to the civil action\nauthorized in subdivision two of this section, where any employer\ndischarges, lays off, refuses to promote or disciplines an employee or\nrefuses to hire a prospective employee because of the existence of one\nor more income executions and/or income deduction orders issued pursuant\nto section fifty-two hundred forty-one or fifty-two hundred forty-two of\nthis article, the court may direct the payment of a civil penalty not to\nexceed five hundred dollars for the first instance and one thousand\ndollars per instance for the second and subsequent instances of employer\nor income payor discrimination. The penalty shall be paid to the\ncreditor and may be enforced in the same manner as a civil judgment or\nin any other manner permitted by law.\n 2. An employee or prospective employee may institute a civil action\nfor damages for wages lost as a result of a violation of this section\nwithin ninety days after such violation. Damages recoverable shall not\nexceed lost wages for six weeks and in such action the court also may\norder the reinstatement of such discharged employee or the hiring of\nsuch prospective employee. Except as provided for in subdivision (g) of\nsection fifty-two hundred forty-one, not more than ten per centum of the\ndamages recovered in such action shall be subject to any claims,\nattachments or executions by any creditors, judgment creditors or\nassignees of such employee or prospective employee. A violation of this\nsection may also be punished as a contempt of court pursuant to the\nprovisions of section seven hundred fifty-three of the judiciary law.\n