§ 198. Costs, remedies. 1. In any action instituted upon a wage claim\nby an employee or the commissioner in which the employee prevails, the\ncourt may allow such employee in addition to ordinary costs, a\nreasonable sum, not exceeding fifty dollars for expenses which may be\ntaxed as costs. No assignee of a wage claim, except the commissioner,\nshall be benefited by this provision.\n 1-a. On behalf of any employee paid less than the wage to which they\nare entitled under the provisions of this article, the commissioner may\nbring any legal action necessary, including administrative action, to\ncollect such claim and as part of such legal action, in addition to any\nother remedies and penalties otherwise available under this article, the\ncommissioner shall assess against the employer the full amount of any\nsuch underpayment, and an additional amount as liquidated damages,\nunless the employer proves a good faith basis for believing that its\nunderpayment of wages was in compliance with the law. Liquidated damages\nshall be calculated by the commissioner as no more than one hundred\npercent of the total amount of wages found to be due, except such\nliquidated damages may be up to three hundred percent of the total\namount of the wages found to be due for a willful violation of section\none hundred ninety-four of this article. In any action instituted in the\ncourts upon a wage claim by an employee or the commissioner in which the\nemployee prevails, the court shall allow such employee to recover the\nfull amount of any underpayment, all reasonable attorney's fees,\nprejudgment interest as required under the civil practice law and rules,\nand, unless the employer proves a good faith basis to believe that its\nunderpayment of wages was in compliance with the law, an additional\namount as liquidated damages equal to one hundred percent of the total\namount of the wages found to be due, except such liquidated damages may\nbe up to three hundred percent of the total amount of the wages found to\nbe due for a willful violation of section one hundred ninety-four of\nthis article. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subdivision,\nliquidated damages shall not be applicable to violations of paragraph a\nof subdivision one of section one hundred ninety-one of this article\nwhere the employer paid the employee wages on a regular payday, no less\nfrequently than semi-monthly. Such violations shall be subject to\ndamages as follows:\n (i) no more than one hundred percent of the lost interest found to be\ndue for the delayed payment of wages calculated using a daily interest\nrate for each day payment is late based on the annual rate of interest\nthen in effect, as prescribed by the superintendent of financial\nservices pursuant to section fourteen-a of the banking law for the\nemployer's first violation; or\n (ii) for conduct occurring after the effective date of this paragraph,\nliquidated damages equal to one hundred percent of the total amount of\nwages found to be due in violation of paragraph a of subdivision one of\nsection one hundred ninety-one of this article for any employer who,\nafter the effective date of this paragraph, has been subject to one or\nmore previous findings and orders for violations of paragraph a of\nsubdivision one of section one hundred ninety-one of this article for\nwhich no proceeding for administrative or judicial review as provided in\nthis chapter is pending and the time for initiation of such proceeding\nshall have expired and relating to employees performing the same work.\n For purposes of this subdivision, an order shall mean a single final\norder or determination made by the commissioner or a court of competent\njurisdiction, regardless of the number of employees or the time period\nthat was subject to such order.\n 1-b. If any employee is not provided within ten business days of his\nor her first day of employment a notice as required by subdivision one\nof section one hundred ninety-five
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