June 5, 2025 — More than 70 investigators and trainees in the Department of Labor (DOL) Division of Labor Standards are finally being properly compensated for the complex and vital work they do for hard-working New Yorkers. 

The Division of Labor Standards protects workers, ensuring employers follow labor laws, such as paying proper wages, the right to a meal period or day of rest, and more. 

Due to the diligence of PEF members, effective at the end of February 2025, Investigative Officer Series titles 1, 2, 3, and 4 (now called Investigative Specialist Series) were upgraded from Salary Grades (SG) 16, 20, 23, and 25, respectively, to SG 18, 23, 25, and 27. Trainee 1 titles are now SG 14 and Trainee 2 were upgraded to SG 16. 

Now retired from state service, former PEF Executive Board member Jose Medina said it was DOL members who put in the work and made it their mission to see this change. 

“The fight started when I was working as an investigator in Labor Standards and we saw that investigators were making only a few dollars over minimum wage,” Medina said. “How can somebody who has to learn law and investigative techniques, write reports, negotiate with attorneys, and determine penalties and damages, make just a few dollars over somebody who doesn’t have a degree?” 

Executive Board and Labor-Management Committee member (now committee chair) Scarlett Ahmed said the topic of reallocations was placed on the agenda years ago after conversations with Medina. 

“We brought it to Labor-Management then, but it didn’t go anywhere,” Ahmed said. “We spoke to President Spence who came up with the idea of a sticker campaign, a low-level form of direct action that might get attention.” 

The New York City DOL office is in close proximity to the Commissioner’s office, and it was evident she saw the campaign when she held up one of the stickers at a Labor-Management meeting shortly after. 

“She said, ‘OK, I’m listening,’” Ahmed recalled.  

Medina said the commissioner authorized PEF members to put together a group to study issues within the department and put forth a presentation on work conditions, technical issues, and pay, among other topics. 

During Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s tenure, the report of the PEF working group was presented – only for the proposal to be killed by the governor, according to Medina. 

Even though he nixed the proposal to improve pay and working conditions, Cuomo still drew heavily on staff when things went south. 

“Every time there was an emergency, he would create a task force that included investigators, workers’ comp, unemployment insurance, and assign them to work on it,” Medina said. “He would not say that we were so behind on the work because we were losing a third of our labor force every 18 months.” 

During the COVID pandemic, the DOL burst into the spotlight as unemployment insurance claims soared, and the community and the press saw firsthand the impact of massive backlogs and short staffing. 

After retiring, Medina continued to advocate for the reallocation – now as a volunteer in the office of Sen. Jessica Ramos, whose large immigrant constituent base is often deeply impacted by wage theft. 

“Jose continued his PEF activism,” Ahmed said. “He asked if PEF supported the senator submitting a request in her name and President Spence agreed. It was a multipronged victory. Syracuse got it started, New York City kept it going with the sticker campaign, and we kept it on Labor-Management for years. We asked at every meeting how many people left, where did they go, did they take jobs outside state service?” 

She also credited former PEF member Michael Marquez, now a PEF staff member; field representative Robert Wright; and her fellow Executive Board members from DOL, as well as all the rank-and-file members, for the victory. 

Impact on pay, morale 

The reallocation and pay upgrades will make a dent in low morale and the revolving door at Labor Standards. 

“It helps a great deal,” Medina said. “It’s about $10,000 to $15,000 depending on where you live.” 

DOL acknowledged the hard work of PEF, its members at DOL, Civil Service and the Division of Budget for making the reallocation possible. 

“This milestone reflects not only your value to our organization but also our commitment to recognizing and rewarding excellence,” the agency said in an email to impacted members. “Your work makes a real difference, and this recognition is well-deserved.” 

Ahmed said team effort is key. 

“I’m proud of the effort and I know other folks in other units are going want to do the same,” she said.  

Members who are interested in learning more about the reallocation process can access the PEF Civil Service  Department toolkit, How to Advocate for Increased Pay Using Civil Service Law, here. 

“Reallocations are considered when there is evidence that a title or class is undervalued in relation to similar positions in state service based on objective characteristics such as duties, responsibilities, and minimum qualifications,” said PEF Director of Civil Service Enforcement Veronica Foley. “In determining if a title should be reallocated to a different salary grade, Class & Comp considers title classification factors and whether there has been a change since the title was last reviewed. These changes must be substantive and long-term, altering the core duties and responsibilities of the title.” 

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