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Consumer and Worker Protection


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Resolve DCWP Issues
Pay Fines and Fees
Request Scale Inspections
Handle Consumer Complaints

Resolve DCWP Issues

Pay Fines and Fees

Request Scale Inspections

Handle Consumer Complaints


IMPORTANT NOTICE
On July 24, 2023, DCWP launched a new system to replace its prior online services and provide additional features for businesses, consumers, and workers. Note: If you had an online account with DCWP before July 24, 2023, please use the same email address you provided DCWP. This will allow you to link your business records to the new system. Read Online Services - FAQs.

Resolve DCWP Issues

If you received a summons, settlement letter, or other legal Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP)—formerly the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA)—correspondence, do NOT ignore it. Read answers below to resolve DCWP issues as soon as possible.

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Click a topic, or press the enter key on a topic, to reveal its answer.

What is a Consent Order?

A Consent Order is an agreement between you/your business and DCWP to settle charges made against you/your business. It may include fine payments and use of certain forms, signs & templates.

Note: For Consent Orders with DCWP’s Office of Labor Policy and Standards (OLPS), online payment is available two business days AFTER the order has been signed by both parties. Civil penalties must be paid by the deadline in the Consent Order. For further assistance, email ComplianceMonitoring@dcwp.nyc.gov.

What is a Summons?

A Summons is an order for you to appear at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH). It is usually issued by a DCWP inspector during an on-site business inspection or by DCWP General Counsel (e.g., your business could not resolve a consumer complaint through mediation).

What are my options if I received a Summons?

In most cases, you can settle a case without a hearing by accepting the conditions of an Offer of Settlement letter. Read Frequently Asked Questions – Settlements.

If you would like to dispute the Summons, you can appear at the hearing. The Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) hears DCWP cases. You can find more information about OATH, including its procedural rules and how to reschedule a hearing, at nyc.gov/oath. Note: At least five business days before your hearing date, you can submit a discovery request to DCWP, and we will respond before the hearing date. Submit your request to discoveryrequests@dcwp.nyc.gov. Please include your Summons/Notice number.

How do I request an Offer of Settlement?

You can request an Offer of Settlement, if applicable, by using your cell phone! Read flyer for instructions.

If you are settling a violation for selling tobacco, electronic cigarettes, or smoking paraphernalia to a minor and want to submit a certificate of completion from a tobacco sales training program certified by the NYS Department of Health, you must also submit the Tobacco Sales Training Program Affirmation. Note: The start date on the employee’s certificate must be before the employee made the illegal sale.

Read Frequently Asked Questions – Settlements. Note that some Offers of Settlement will include information about curable violations (i.e., certain first-time violations that you can settle without penalty if you correct the violation within 30 days of the inspection and plead guilty). Read Curable Violations FAQs, including a full list of curable violations and ways to submit a Cure Certification.

After receiving an Offer of Settlement, you can:

Submit Cure Certification (read FAQs) and/or

Pay the reduced fines at least one day BEFORE the hearing date.

What is the Cure Law? How do I submit a Cure Certification?

Under the Cure Law, a business has the opportunity to certify that it has cured (correct) without a fine certain first-time violations.

Read Curable Violations FAQs, including a full list of curable violations and ways to submit a Cure Certification.

How do I submit a Discovery Request?

At least five business days before your hearing date, you can submit a discovery request to DCWP, and we will respond before the hearing date. Submit your request to discoveryrequests@dcwp.nyc.gov. Please include your Summons/Notice number.

What are the Penalty Schedules?

View DCWP Penalty Schedules in the Rules of the City of New York, Title 6, Chapter 6, Subchapter B.

What if I disagree with a Recommended Decision?

Certain charges issued by DCWP will result in a Recommended Decision from the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH). If you disagree with the Recommended Decision, you may submit a written argument why OATH’s recommendation should not be followed by DCWP. You must submit the argument to DCWP within 30 days of OATH’s Recommended Decision. Note: DCWP will consider your written argument and will issue a final decision that either affirms, reverses, or modifies OATH’s recommendation.

What is a Request for Stay of Default?

If DCWP intends to enter and docket a judgment against you in New York State Court based on a decision and order issued against you, you may request a “stay” so DCWP will stop or suspend entering and docketing a judgment against you. Download Request for Stay of Default form.

Additional Information

For more information about Settlements, read Frequently Asked Questions – Settlements.

For more information about Curable Violations, read Frequently Asked Questions – Curable Violations, including a full list of curable violations and ways to submit a Cure Certification.

For more information about Settlement Offers from DCWP's Office of Labor Policy & Standards (OLPS), read Frequently Asked Questions – Settlement Offers from DCWP's OLPS.

For more information about OATH Hearings, including procedural rules (for example, requests to reschedule a hearing), go to nyc.gov/oath