Advocates Argue Appeal in Disability and Labor Rights Lawsuit against OTDA
Contact:
- Patrick Fowler, Communications Strategist | fowler@nclej.org
- Alex Dery Snider, Director of Policy and Communications | aderysnider@empirejustice.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 16, 2025
NEW YORK, NY: Today, the National Center for Law and Economic Justice (NCLEJ) and Empire Justice Center argued their appeal before the New York Court of Appeals in their labor and disability rights lawsuit against the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA).
In New York State, public benefits recipients are required to participate in work, training, or education to receive public assistance, sometimes called “workfare.” If the benefits recipient later comes into a windfall amount of money, the recipient is also required to pay back the public assistance received previously.
The issue now on appeal in Andersen v. Roberts is whether OTDA violates the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by collecting the full amount of public assistance without crediting the value of workfare from Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a federal program which provides monthly cash benefits to people with disabilities and older adults.
Read the appellate brief here.
Background:
In 2015 the New York State Court of Appeals determined that a public assistance recipient who was assigned to workfare as a condition of receiving benefits was an “employee” under the FLSA, and that the value of that required work must be credited against their public assistance debt. Empire Justice Center, later joined by the National Center for Law and Economic Justice (NCLEJ), subsequently sued OTDA over their failure to implement this ruling statewide.
While a settlement agreement was reached under which OTDA agreed to apply the 2015 decision to its recovery of public assistance debt from inheritances, insurance payments, personal injury awards, and lottery winnings, OTDA continues to deny the same credit for workfare to recoveries from Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. When SSI is awarded, OTDA recoups the full amount of assistance it has paid and does not credit the value of any work it has required the recipients to perform.
In December 2022, the Albany County Supreme Court held that OTDA’s failure to credit the value of those work hours to SSI recoupments violated the FLSA. The Appellate Division, Third Department reversed the ruling in August 2024, permitting OTDA to recoup the entire value of public assistance debt from a lump sum of retroactive SSI without crediting the value of workfare. Plaintiffs were granted leave to appeal to the New York State Court of Appeals—a noteworthy event given New York’s highest court accepts fewer than 5% of appeal cases.
“There is no reason whatsoever to treat deny elderly and disabled people the protections granted to most public assistance recipients who participate in workfare.,” said Saima Akhtar, Senior Attorney at the National Center for Law and Economic Justice. “We believe that the Court of Appeals will provide vital protection to these vulnerable workers as it did for Mr. Carver in 2015.”
“The Plaintiffs in this case were required to “work off” their public assistance grants as a condition of receiving that assistance, effectively paying OTDA back with the value of their labor. When OTDA then took the Plaintiffs’ retroactive SSI, OTDA violated the Fair Labor Standards Act which was enacted to protect vulnerable workers,” said Susan Antos, Managing Attorney at Empire Justice Center.
The National Center for Law and Economic Justice is a nonprofit law firm that advances racial and economic justice for low-income families, individuals, and communities across the country through ground-breaking impact litigation, policy advocacy, and support for grassroots organizing. Founded in 1965, NCLEJ fights to protect access to critical benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, and childcare, protect low-wage workers’ rights and safety, advocates for the rights of people with disabilities, and fights unlawful debt collection.
Empire Justice Center is a nonprofit law firm that seeks to make the law work for all New Yorkers, especially those who need it the most by identifying critical issues, developing and implementing creative solutions and monitoring ongoing results. Empire Justice has protected and strengthened the legal rights of people in New York since 1973 through three major service areas; teaching the law by providing training, support and technical assistance to attorneys and community-based advocates to help better serve clients; practicing the law by providing direct civil legal assistance and undertaking impact litigation; and improving the law by engaging in policy analysis, research and advocacy. Empire Justice has offices in Albany, Rochester, Yonkers, White Plains, Central Islip and Hempstead on Long Island. For more information, please visit empirejustice.org.
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