New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a $148,000 settlement with Souterntier Custom Fabricators, Inc. (Southerntier), a sheet metal manufacturer in Elmira, Chemung County, for failing to provide paid sick leave to unionized employees during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. An Office of the Attorney General (OAG) investigation found that between September 2020 and April 2022, Southerntier unlawfully withheld paid sick leave benefits from approximately 200 unionized workers while granting those benefits to non-unionized employees. As part of the settlement, Southerntier will deliver $148,252.47 in restitution to impacted employees for the paid sick leave hours they rightfully accrued.

“Every worker deserves equal access to sick leave, especially during a public health crisis. By denying paid sick leave to its unionized workers, Southerntier violated its workers’ rights and put their health and safety at risk. My office will continue to do everything in our power to uphold workers’ rights, and I will always stand proudly with our unions in the fight for fair treatment.” – AG James