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

§ 5252. Discrimination against employees and prospective employees
based upon wage assignment or income execution. 1. No employer shall
discharge, lay off, refuse to promote, or discipline an employee, or
refuse to hire a prospective employee, because one or more wage
assignments or income executions have been served upon such employer or
a former employer against the employee's or prospective employee's wages
or because of the pendency of any action or judgment against such
employee or prospective employee for nonpayment of any alleged
contractual obligation. In addition to being subject to the civil action
authorized in subdivision two of this section, where any employer
discharges, lays off, refuses to promote or disciplines an employee or
refuses to hire a prospective employee because of the existence of one
or more income executions and/or income deduction orders issued pursuant
to section fifty-two hundred forty-one or fifty-two hundred forty-two of
this article, the court may direct the payment of a civil penalty not to
exceed five hundred dollars for the first instance and one thousand
dollars per instance for the second and subsequent instances of employer
or income payor discrimination. The penalty shall be paid to the
creditor and may be enforced in the same manner as a civil judgment or
in any other manner permitted by law.

2. An employee or prospective employee may institute a civil action
for damages for wages lost as a result of a violation of this section
within ninety days after such violation. Damages recoverable shall not
exceed lost wages for six weeks and in such action the court also may
order the reinstatement of such discharged employee or the hiring of
such prospective employee. Except as provided for in subdivision (g) of
section fifty-two hundred forty-one, not more than ten per centum of the
damages recovered in such action shall be subject to any claims,
attachments or executions by any creditors, judgment creditors or
assignees of such employee or prospective employee. A violation of this
section may also be punished as a contempt of court pursuant to the
provisions of section seven hundred fifty-three of the judiciary law.