Chamber urges NYC Council to overhaul “gotcha” enforcement and excessive penalties
NEW YORK, NY – Today, February 23, 2026, Jessica Walker, President and CEO of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, testified before the New York City Council's Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection. Walker urged lawmakers to shift the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) away from punitive, "gotcha" enforcement tactics. Instead, the Chamber advocated for a regulatory system that distinguishes between malicious actors and honest mistakes made by small business owners.
During the oversight hearing, Walker presented findings from the Chamber’s "Enforcement Uncovered" report, which analyzed over 100,000 violation charges across the five boroughs.
Key Findings from the Testimony:
A staggering 62 percent of all resolved charges ended in a default judgment due to business owners failing to respond to summonses.
The overwhelming majority of charges against small businesses stem from simple administrative or signage errors, such as a missing refund policy or missing "straws upon request" signs, rather than acts of consumer fraud.
The city's Right-to-Cure system is broken, with 55 percent of cure-eligible charges lacking any recorded outcome in DCWP's reporting.
"What we are asking for is a system that distinguishes between malice and mistakes—one that recognizes the vast majority of small business owners are not corporate entities with dedicated legal and HR departments, but working people who are often learning about a new regulation for the first time when an inspector walks through their door." —Jessica Walker, President & CEO, Manhattan Chamber of Commerce
Legislative & Regulatory Concerns
In addition to highlighting enforcement data, the Chamber outlined several specific concerns regarding recent and proposed regulations:
Environmental Mandates: The Chamber urged the City Council to amend the "Skip the Stuff" law and the single-use plastics ban to include permanent Right-to-Cure periods for first-time administrative infractions.
Protected Time Off Benchmarks: Walker expressed serious concern over DCWP's newly published Benchmarks report. Relying on national survey data as an enforcement baseline risks triggering false alarms for small employers whose limited staff sizes make statistical comparisons unreliable.
Introduction 0410-2026 (Flexible Benefits Cards): The Chamber warned that mandating small retailers to accept flexible benefits cards could function as an unfunded technology mandate. The Chamber requested that the city provide technology grants, a small-business exemption, and a longer phase-in period.
Introduction 0177-2026 (Student Loan Counseling): While supporting the creation of a student loan financial counseling program, the Chamber emphasized that it must be resourced independently so it does not divert capacity from DCWP’s existing enforcement and outreach obligations.
The Chamber's Proposed Solutions
To build a smarter and more supportive enforcement system, the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce recommended the following actionable steps:
Mandate SMS and email notifications at 7, 3, and 1 day before a hearing deadline to drastically reduce the 62 percent default rate.
Create a mobile-first "one-click cure" portal allowing business owners to upload photos of corrected violations.
Fund Compliance Navigators to provide ongoing, in-person compliance guidance to neighborhood businesses.