Complete report in PDF format

Contact: Lise Bang-Jensen

The state Legislature has the power to impose a temporary freeze on the collectively bargained wages and “step” increments of public employees in New York to help deal with a severe fiscal crisis, according to a legal opinion released today by the Empire Center for Public Policy.

“Temporary wage freezes are lawful under New York and Federal law provided they are supported with appropriate legislative findings and tailored in a reasonable manner to protect the public,” concludes the opinion written by Terry O’Neil and Howard Miller, partners at the law firm of Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC.

O’Neil and Miller cite federal and state court decisions upholding wage freezes in New York City, Yonkers and Buffalo, all imposed with legislative authorizations by state- created financial control boards. In another case, a federal court upheld a furlough in Baltimore, Md.

“In short, a court reviewing a statutory wage freeze will likely defer to legislative findings of a fiscal emergency,” they write. “If it can be shown that other less intrusive interventions were tried without success to protect the public, the Legislation will be upheld.”

The opinion notes that the state has already sought unsuccessfully to deal with its financial problems by increasing taxes, cutting aid to school districts and municipalities, delaying income tax refunds, postponing payments to school districts and temporarily halting highway construction funds as the construction season began.

A freeze on all public-sector wages at the state, local and school district level would save at least $1.6 billion in 2010-11 fiscal years, growing to over $2 billion by 2013, according to the Empire Center’s recent report, Blueprint for a Better Budget. A wage freeze would more than offset the property tax increases that most school districts have proposed for 2010-11, according to E.J. McMahon, director of the Empire Center.

“A freeze can’t completely prevent layoffs, but it’s a way of preserving jobs and public services that would otherwise be jeopardized as a result of aid cuts that are now absolutely essential to balance the state budget,” McMahon said.

O’Neil, a nationally recognized expert in labor law, is co-author of the 2007 Empire Center report, Taylor Made: The Cost and Consequences of New York’s Public-Sector Labor. Miller specializes in employment and education law. The Albany-based Empire Center is non-partisan, independent think tank.

You may also like

Five Years After Janus, Union Membership Sinks in NY State Agencies

About 15 percent of unionized New York state government workers chose not to pay union dues last year, up from 10 percent in 2020, according to a new research report from the Empire Center. Read More

Legislative Staff Can’t Unionize: Report

New York’s legislative employees are not eligible to unionize under the state’s sweeping public-sector collective bargaining law. Read More

Over 200 New Contracts Now Available at SeeThroughNY

Complete copies of 220 local government and school district labor union contracts were added today to SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More

Empire Center Awarded Legal Fees in FOIL Challenge

In a consequential win for government transparency, the New York State Supreme Court has ordered a Long Island school district to comply with the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), following years of evasion. In addition to providing its teacher and superintendent contracts, Malverne Union Free School District has reimbursed the Empire Center for Public Policy’s legal expenses. Read More

Empire Center to Public Employers: Halt Union Agency Fees

The Empire Center today sent a letter to state and local government employers across New York, pointing out their new obligations to non-union government employees under last week’s U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Janus v. AFSCME. Read More

Statement Concerning Executive Order #183

It’s tempting to dismiss this as political posturing. Unfortunately, the governor’s rhetoric hints that his assault on the public’s right to know might not end there. Read More

Report Reviews Impact of Taylor Law at 50

The Empire Center has issued a 50th anniversary update of its seminal 2007 report on New York’s landmark Taylor Law, which governs labor relations in state and local government. Read More

Janus Ruling Could Save NY Workers More than $100M

New York state and local government workers could save at least $112 million a year if a pending U.S. Supreme Court case puts an end to compulsory fee collections for government unions, according to a new report from the Empire Center for Public Policy. Read More