•
PARTNERSHIP
AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
THE
U.S.
DEPARTMENT
OF
LABOR,
WAGE
AND
HOUR
DIVISION
AND
Labor Bureau
of
the New York State Office
of
Attorney Gencral
This Agreement is made and entered into by and between The
United States Department
of
Labor's Wage and Hour Division (hereinafter referred
to
as
"WHO"
or
"Department") and the
Labor Bureau
of
the Office
of
Attorney General (OAG)
of
the State
of
New York (hereinafter
referred to as
"OAG
Labor Bureau"), together collectively referred to as "the agencies" or "the
parties".
With the specific and mutual goals
of
providing clear, accurate, and easy-to-access outreach
to employers, employees, and other stakeholders, and
of
sharing resources and enhancing
enforcement
by
conducting coordinated investigations and sharing information consistent with
applicable law, the parties agree to enter into this partnership.
THEREFORE, IT
IS MUTUALLY AGREED THAT:
Purpose
The agencies recognize the value
of
establishing a collaborative relationship to promote
compliance with laws
of
common concern in the State
of
New York. The agencies are forming this
partnership to more effectively and efficiently communicate and cooperate on areas
of
common
interest, to share training materials,
to
provide employers and employees with compliance
assistance information, to conduct coordinated investigations and share information as appropriate
towards the goal
of
protecting the wages, safety, and health
of
America's workforce.
Agency Responsibilities
WHD is responsible for administering and enforcing a wide range
oflabor
laws, including
the Fair Labor
Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Migrant and Seasonal
Agricultural Worker Protection Act, worker protections provided in several temporary visa
programs, and the prevailing wage requirements
of
the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts and the
Service Contract Act. Nothing in this agreement limits the
WHO's
enforcement
of
these and other
statutes. WHD enters into this agreement pursuant to its statutory authority under 29
U.S.C.
§ 211(b).
As head
of
the Department
of
Law, the Office
of
Attorney General
of
the State
of
New
York
serves
as
the guardian
of
the legal rights
ofthe
citizens
of
New York and serves all New Yorkers
in
numerous matters affecting their daily lives. Among other duties, the OAG Labor Bureau
investigates violations
of
minimum wage, overtime, prevailing wage, and other basic federal and
state labor laws throughout the state, and brings civil and criminal prosecutions against employers
who have violated these laws. Nothing
in
this agreement limits the OAG Labor Bureau's
enforcement
of
these and other statutes.
Contacts
• The agencies will designate a contact person responsible for coordinating the partnership
activities.
• The agencies will designate a representative to meet annually to review areas
of
mutual
concem and the terms and conditions
of
the partnership.
Enforcement
Where appropriate and to the extent allowable under law,
• The agencies
may
conduct joint (affirmative, as appropriate) investigations periodically
involving potential violations occurring within the State
of
New York,
if
opportunity
provides.
• The agencies will assist each other with enforcement.
• The agencies will make referrals
of
potential violations
of
each other's statutes.
Effect
of
Agreement
• This agreement does not authorize the expenditure or reimbursement
of
any funds. Nothing
in
this agreement obligates the parties to expend appropriations
or
enter into any contract or
other obligation.
•
By
entering into this partnership, the agencies do not imply an endorsement
or
promotion by
either party
ofthe
policies, programs,
or
services
of
the other.
• Nothing in this agreement is intended to diminish or otherwise affect the authority
of
either
agency to implement its respective statutory functions.
• This agreement contains all the terms and conditions agreed upon by the parties. No other
understandings, oral or otherwise, regarding the subject matter
of
this agreement
sha)]
be
deemed to exist
or
be binding upon the parties. This agreement is not intended to confer any
right upon any private person
or
other third party.
• Nothing in this agreement will be interpreted as limiting, superseding,
or
otherwise affecting
the parties' normal operations. This agreement also does not limit
or
restrict the parties
from participating
in
similar activities or arrangements with other entities.
• This agreement will be executed in full compliance with the Privacy Act
of
1974 and the
New York Freedom
of
Information Law, and any other applicable federal and New York state
laws.
Exchange
of
Information
• It
is
the policy
of
WHD and OAG Labor Bureau to cooperate with other government
agencies where appropriate, subject to the general limitation that any such cooperation must
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be consistent with the statutory obligations and enforcement efforts
of
the WHO and
of
the
OAG Labor Bureau. It is
WHD's
and OAG Labor Bureau's view that an exchange
of
infonnation in cases
in
which both entities are proceeding
on
the same, overlapping,
or
similar matters is to our mutual benefit. There is a need for
WHD
and OAG Labor Bureau
to provide intormation to other law enforcement bodies without making a public disclosure.
• Exchange
of
such inlonnation pursuant to this agreement is not a public disclosure under the
Freedom
of
Information
Act,S
U.S.c. 552 and the New York Freedom
of
Information Law.
• Confidential inforn1ation means infonnation that may be exempt from disclosure to the
public or other unauthorized persons under state and federal statutes.
See. e.g.,
18
U.S.C.
1905 (Trade Secrets Act) and 5 U.S.c. 552a (Privacy Act
of
1974). Confidential
infonnation includes: the identities
of
persons who have given information to the parties in
confidence or under circumstances in which confidentiality can be implied; any employee
statements in
WHD's
and OAG Labor Bureau's enforcement files that were obtained under
these conditions; internal opinions, policy statements, memoranda, and recommendations
of
federal
or
state personnel, including (but not limited to) any records that would otherwise
not
be
subject to disclosure under law as non-final, intra- or inter-agency documents;
information
or
records covered by the attorney-client privilege and the attorney-work-
product privilege; personal infonnation on living persons; individually identifiable health
infonnation, and confidential business information and trade secrets.
•
When
confidential information is exchanged it shall be accessed and used by the recipient
party solely for the limited purposes
of
carrying
out
specific (affirmative, as appropriate)
enforcement activities pursuant to this agreement as described herein, and in no event shall
such information be disclosed by the recipient party without the written authority
of
the
agency providing
rhe information (hereinafter the "donor agency")
or
a court order.
• The parties will notify one another upon commencement oflitigation, a hearing, or other
proceeding that may involve the release, through subpoena, introduction
of
written evidence,
or
testimony,
of
information exchanged under this agreement subject to the limitations in the
preceding paragraph.
•
For
information security purposes, information (including paper-based documents and
electronic information such as emails and CDs) exchanged pursuant to this Agreement
remains the responsibility
of
the donor agency while in transit. The agencies agree to
establish a communication protocol for notifying each agency's designated contact person
when infonnation is sent to
or
received from that agency, including information on the
fOIm
of
the transfer and the media type and quantity (when appropriate).
An
agency expecting to
receive information will notify the donor agency
if
the information is not received as
of
the
next business date following the agreed upon delivery date.
•
For
information security purposes, after an agency receives information from the donor
agency, the donor agency retains no responsibility for
any
security incidents, inadvertent
disclosure, or the physical and information technology safeguards in place for protecting that
information by the agency that received it.
•
nuwewr,
in ihe event that the agency receiving the information experiences a security
incident or disaster that results in the suspected or confirmed inadvertent disclosure
of
the
data exchanged pursuant to this Agreement, the agency experiencing the incident
or
disaster
will send formal written notification
to
the donor agency's designated contact person within
3
3 days after detection
of
the incident or disaster. The written notification will describe the
security incident or disaster in detail including what data exchanged pursuant to this
Agreement may have been inadvertently disclosed.
Subject to the foregoing constraints:
• The agencies agree to exchange information on laws and regulations
of
common concern
to
the agencies in order to advance their (affirmative, as appropriate) enforcement agenda,
consistent with applicable law, to the extent practicable and appropriate.
• Where appropriate, the agencies will exchange investigative leads, complaints, referrals
of
possible violations, and case-related documents,
to
the extent allowable
by
law and policy.
• The agencies will exchange information (statistical data) on the incidence
of
violations in
specific industries and geographic areas, ifpossible, to the extent such statistical information
readily exists within the agency's records.
Outreach and Education
• When appropriate and feasible, the agencies agree to coordinate, conduct joint outreach
presentations, and prepare and distribute publications
of
common concern for the regulated
community.
• The agencies agree
to
jointly disseminate outreach materials to the regulated community,
when appropriate.
• All materials bearing the United States Department
of
Labor ("DOL") or WHD nrune, logo,
or seal must be approved in advance by DOL. All materials bearing the OAG name, logo,
or seal must be approved in advance by the
OAG.
Resolution
of
Disagreements
Disputes arising under this Agreement will be resolved informalIy
by
discussions between
Agency Points
of
Contact, or other officials designated by each agency.
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Period
of
Agreement
This agreement becomes effective upon the signing
of
both parties, and will expire 3 years
from the effective date.
This agreement may be modified in writing by mutual consent
of
both
agencies. The agreement may be cancelled by either party by giving thirty
(30) days advance
written notice prior
to
the date
of
cancellation. Renewal
of
the agreement may be accomplished by
written agreement
of
the parties.
Provisions related to the confidentiality and handling
of
information exchanged pursuant
to
this agreement shall survive the termination
of
this agreement.
This agreement
is
effective as
of
the
United States Department
of
Labor
Wage and Hour Division
BY
~~
La~
Principal Deputy Administrator
New York
Office
of
Attorney General
Labor Bureau
BY:~~~-
Terri Gerstein
Labor Bureau
Chief
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