Governor Cuomo signed legislation designed to improve the ability of workers and the Department of Labor to tackle wage theft in New York State. The legislation improves on the 2010 Wage Theft Prevention Act, it contains additional improvements in retaliation protections for vulnerable workers, transparency provisions to help advocates and workers identify cases of wage theft, and it also streamlines reporting provisions to lessen burdens on law-abiding employers.
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State Senator Jim Seward & Otsego County Sheriff Richard Devlin will be sworn in for another term each at their respective positions, tomorrow at the Otsego County Courthouse in Cooperstown. Seward will be sworn into office for his 15th 2-year senate term. Otsego County Representative Rick Hulse Jr. will serve as master of ceremonies. Supreme Court Justice Michael Coccoma and Otsego County Judge Brian Burns will administer the oath of office; the ceremony begins at 1:00 p.m. at the County Courthouse at 197 Main Street Cooperstown.
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The Governor’s 2015 State of the State Address will be held at the Convention Center in Albany’s Empire State Plaza on January 7th at 1:30 PM. New Yorkers wishing to attend should visit governor.ny.gov to register, from today until Monday, January 5th at 12:00 PM. Seating is limited and tickets are non-transferable. In the event that the number of requests exceeds available seating, attendees will be selected by lottery. Guests will be notified of their selection via email by January 5th.
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State DMV Commissioner Barbara Fiala of Binghamton is retiring. Fiala served as the Broome County Executive before taking over the DMV in 2011 when she was appointed by Governor Cuomo. A successor for Fiala has not yet been announced.
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The Broome County Legislature has passed a law that increases their pay. The new law would tie increases in pay for non-union county employees to the raises negotiated for union workers. The bill passed by a 9-4 vote Monday night. It still faces a public hearing and the signature of County Executive Debbie Preston before becoming law.
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Governor Cuomo announced that 4 new outdoor access projects are now complete and open for public use. One of the projects is the Colliersville Boat Launch in the Town of Milford, where $17,160 was used for a canoe/kayak slide and stairs to access the Susquehanna River. More information is available at dec.ny.gov.
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An Otsego county couple will be featured on ABC TV news’s 20/20 Friday night. Paul Sohacki & Katherine Gannon lived on 12 acres near Cooperstown, they were arrested after making complaints to the county District Attorney’s office about their neighbor Gene Ellis, whose driveway to access his land crosses slightly onto the couples land. The couple recorded videos of Ellis using the driveway in question, the investigation & complaints by a 3rd party led to Sohacki & Gannon facing charges of stalking Ellis. The segment will run on ABC television Friday night starting at 10:00 pm.
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