N.Y. Labor Law § 21 (2026)

§ 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.