NYECA Negotiates Beneficial Changes to Construction Reporting Pay Act
The Construction Reporting Pay Act (A.6950/S.9843) was signed into law by Governor Hochul on September 9 as Chapter 291 of the Laws of 2026. The law establishes reporting pay and short notice cancellation pay requirements, requiring four hours of pay when a covered construction employee reports for work and is sent home, and two hours when a scheduled shift is cancelled with less than 12 hours’ notice. NYECA strenuously opposed the legislation in its original form, as an inappropriate intrusion into the collective bargaining process, since the law as originally written applied immediately to all construction contractors operating under a CBA.
In repeated meetings with the Governor’s staff, NYECA emphasized that existing CBAs frequently address circumstances such as weather-related cancellations, safety shutdowns, force majeure events, employee notification requirements, and other trade-specific operational concerns. We pointed out that in many cases, reporting pay obligations are negotiated alongside higher wage rates, overtime premiums, benefits, hiring hall protections, guaranteed hours, and other economic concessions. But by imposing an immediately effective statutory reporting pay mandate, it would override these negotiated compromises and, in some cases, create significant unanticipated cost increases where alternative pay structures were intentionally agreed upon by the parties.
NYECA is pleased to report that as a result of our advocacy working with our partners in the union construction industry, the Governor agreed to a beneficial chapter amendment to the legislation that will be adopted by the legislature in early 2027. The Governor acknowledged that the bill as drafted “created uncertainties for existing work arrangements, especially where rate of pay and cancellation protocols are subject to a collective bargaining agreement. In addition, later notice requirements are appropriate when shifts are cancelled due to inclement weather.” As a result, the amendment, which will take effect retroactive to the original enactment date of the law (December 8, 2026) will exempt in its entirety all CBA’s in effect as of that date. The revisions will also allow for later notice requirements, as we had requested. And while the provisions of the new law will apply to CBA’s that expire after December 8 2026, the changes we negotiated will give the parties sufficient time to both anticipate and negotiate these terms into future CBA’s.
While NYECA still maintains that the overall bill was not necessary, and that the Governor and Department of Labor should focus their attention on the bad actors in the construction industry and not union contractors, the amended bill represents a significant improvement over what was originally proposed, and NYECA was pleased to be part of that successful effort.
NYECA Priority Bill Status Update (activity within the past month)
- A.6950 (Cruz)/S.9843 (Ramos) Enacts "the construction reporting pay act"
- Signed by the Governor (Chap: 291)
- Approval memo 2
- Chapter amendment required
- A.11680 (Simone) Relates to adopting the standards of the International code council for the design, fabrication and assembly of factory manufactured homes.
If you have any questions or would like additional information on any New York State or New York City legislative matter, including copies of any legislation or regulations mentioned in this article, please contact Peter Rescigno or NYECA lobbyist Perry Ochacher at (914) 319-9173.