N.Y. Labor Law § 21: General powers and duties of commissioner

§ 21. General powers and duties of commissioner. The commissioner

shall be the administrative head of the department and shall have,

notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, general

administrative supervision over the several divisions, boards,

commissions, bureaus, and agencies thereof whether established under the

provisions of this chapter or the workmen's compensation law and in

connection therewith, the commissioner:

1. Shall enforce all the provisions of this chapter and may issue such

orders as he finds necessary directing compliance with any provision of

this chapter, except as in this chapter otherwise provided;

2. Shall cause proper inspections to be made of all matters prescribed

by this chapter;

3. Shall cause investigations to be made of the condition of women in

industry;

* 3-a. Shall prepare and submit to the governor, the temporary

president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly on or before the

thirtieth day of September an annual report on the status of older

workers including those over the age of sixty-five in New York state.

Such report shall describe in detail the employment needs of such older

workers and the ability of existing state employment services to deal

with the problems of older workers. The report shall consider the need

for affirmative action, training, counseling, development of alternative

work schedules, job development activities within the public and private

sector, and the need for improved use by older workers of publicly

funded programs for employment and employment-related services. The

report shall also consider the economic impact of unemployment among

older workers and shall contain recommendations, including the

associated costs, for improved programs or for changes in statutes or

regulations to provide increased employment opportunities for older

workers.

* NB Expired October 1, 1981

4. Shall inquire into and report on the causes of all strikes,

lockouts and other industrial controversies or labor disputes, and may

appoint boards of inquiry for that purpose;

5. Shall institute methods and procedures for the establishment of a

program for voluntary compliance by employers and employees with the

requirements of this act and all applicable safety and health standards

and rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to the authority of this

article;

6. Shall provide a method of encouraging employers and employees in

their efforts to reduce the number of safety and health hazards arising

from undesirable, inappropriate, or unnecessary working conditions at

the workplace and of stimulating employers and employees to institute

new and to perfect existing programs for providing safe and healthful

working conditions;

7. May provide for the establishment and maintenance of public

employment offices for the purpose of securing employment for men, women

and children;

8. May make investigations, collect and compile statistical

information and report upon the conditions of labor generally and upon

all matters relating to the enforcement and effect of the provisions of

this chapter and of the rules thereunder;

9. May enforce any lawful municipal ordinance, by-law or regulation

relating to any place affected by the provisions of this chapter, not in

conflict with provisions of this chapter;

10. May investigate the condition of noncitizens relative to their

employment in industry;

11. May issue such regulations governing any provision of this chapter

as he finds necessary and proper.

12. Shall compile and publish, on an annual basis, a list of all

regulations and notices required to be posted by employers for the

benefit of their employees pursuant to this chapter, the workers'

compensation law and any other state or federal law, rule or regulation.

13. Shall adopt regulations prescribing the methodology for

establishing an ongoing monthly statewide cost of labor index and an

annual county or appropriate multi-county labor market composite wage

rate, in consultation with the commissioner of education, for the

purpose of computation of building aid to school districts, as required

by subparagraph one of paragraph a of subdivision six of section

thirty-six hundred two of the education law.

14. Shall do all things necessary for the operation of the New York

state data center established in the department in cooperation with the

United States bureau of the census; to cooperate with other state

agencies, universities, regional organizations, boards, commissions, and

other entities in the dissemination of socio-economic information and

data through the New York state data center program; in relation to such

information and data, to provide technical assistance to other state

agencies, universities, regional organizations, boards, commissions and

other entities; and to prepare estimates and the official projections of

population, households and other characteristics of the state for use by

all state agencies. All employees transferred to the department shall be

transferred without further examination or qualification to the same or

similar titles and shall remain in the same collective bargaining units

and shall retain their respective civil service classifications, status

and rights pursuant to their collective bargaining units and collective

bargaining agreements.

15. Shall establish and maintain an online database to catalogue and

make available information on workforce development funding programs.

Such catalogue shall be updated no less than annually. For purposes of

this subdivision, the term "workforce development funding program" shall

mean a program that funds or provides targeted educational, occupational

or training services for the purpose of effecting the employability of

the participant, provides training or employment services, supports an

economic development activity by enhancing the skills of the state's

workforce, prepares individuals for employment, improves opportunities

for individuals to become employed, or promotes understanding of the

state labor force market through statistical studies, including but not

limited to programs that fund or provide English as a second language

and adult literacy. For each workforce development funding program, the

online database shall include, but not be limited to, the following

information for each funding program:

(i) the name of the funding program and the agency administering the

funding program;

(ii) a description of the purpose of the funding program;

(iii) a specific program Uniform Resource Locator ("URL"), if any;

(iv) the year the program was established;

(v) a catalog of federal domestic assistance numbers, if any;

(vi) the legal authority, including statute and regulation citations;

(vii) the program and fiscal contact information including agency

name, telephone number, and email address;

(viii) all eligibility requirements;

(ix) any program and special restrictions;

(x) any action or actions required to receive aid; and

(xi) a description of aid which shall include, but not be limited to,

the flow of funds between entities, the type of aid formula used, any

matching requirements and any maintenance of effort.

16. Beginning on December first, two thousand twenty-four, and every

December first thereafter, the department shall prepare a report of the

catalogue of workforce development funding programs established pursuant

to subdivision fifteen of this section comprised of analysis conducted

by the agency or entity responsible for each workforce development

funding program on the outcomes and effectiveness of such funding

programs and the number of persons served by such funding. Such analysis

must be submitted to the department by a date specified by the

department each year. Such report shall be submitted to the governor,

the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the

minority leader of the senate and the minority leader of the assembly

and shall be made publicly available on the department's website.