The POWER Act, unveiled by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Oct. 6, would allow workers, consumers, tenants, small businesses and nonprofits to sue businesses that engage in unfair practices under city law. Council Member Harvey Epstein introduced the bill on the mayor's behalf at the City Council's stated meeting on Oct. 8.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced on Oct. 6 that he would send the City Council the POWER Act, a bill that would allow residents to sue businesses directly over unfair business practices. Harvey Epstein, chair of the Council's Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection, introduced the bill on the mayor's behalf at the Council's stated meeting on Oct. 8.
Under the current New York City consumer protection law, individuals can sue only over "deceptive acts." The bill would broaden that, granting a right to sue under city law over unfair methods of competition and unfair, unconscionable and illegal business practices as well. Those eligible to sue would be workers, consumers, tenants, small businesses and nonprofits. Nonprofits could bring claims on behalf of themselves, their members and the general public.
Examples cited by the city include a tenant challenging a landlord's overcharging of rent and a tenant association taking on a landlord who wrongfully withheld security deposits. They also include a taxi driver disputing a lender's unfair loan terms and a consumer deceived by a for-profit school seeking loan relief. The announcement does not specify the range of damages or the litigation procedures.
Two companion bills are also being introduced. The "Truth in Pricing Act," sponsored by Epstein and Council Member Carmen De La Rosa, would let merchants choose whether to put prices on products or on shelves, simplifying labeling rules that had varied by store size and type of item. A bill amending the consumer protection law, sponsored by Council Member Chi Ossé, would eliminate the lengthy rulemaking process the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) previously had to go through before challenging unfair business practices.
DCWP Commissioner Samuel Levine called the bill "one of the largest expansions of consumer and worker rights in the history of New York City." For the bill to pass, it must go through committee review and a vote in the City Council, and no implementation date has been set.