Consumer and Worker Protection311Search all NYC.gov websites
To protect and enhance the daily economic lives of New Yorkers to create thriving communities.
The NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) is the nation’s leading municipal enforcement agency charged with delivering economic justice. DCWP leverages its authority to bring New Yorkers real economic relief and protect them from predatory, deceptive, and unfair practices that violate their rights as consumers and workers. This includes pioneering cutting-edge protections, such as the City’s Consumer Protection Law, Protected Time Off Law, Fair Workweek Law, and Delivery Worker Laws, including the Minimum Pay Rate for delivery workers. Through licensing more than 45,000 businesses in over 45 industries, DCWP ensures fair competition and a level playing field for responsible small businesses that are integral to New York City’s vibrant communities. DCWP also provides essential services such as free tax preparation and financial counseling to ensure New Yorkers keep more of what they earn and can plan for their futures. DCWP is committed to making sure New York City is a fairer, more affordable place to live.
History of the Agency
The agency was created on April 29, 1969 when City Council passed the landmark Consumer Protection Law that gave the agency its broad authority to protect the public from deceptive business practices, making it the first municipal agency of its kind in the country. It was at this time that the City’s Department of Markets, which included the City’s Weights and Measures division, merged with the Department of Licensing to form one unified Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA). In 2006, DCA evolved with the changing marketplace with the creation of its Office of Financial Empowerment, the first local government initiative in the nation aimed expressly at educating, empowering and protecting those with low incomes. In 2016, following the successful implementation of the City’s Paid Sick Leave Law, DCA’s mandate expanded yet again to add its Office of Labor Policy & Standards, NYC’s central resource for workers and a dedicated voice for workers in City government. In 2019, DCA was renamed the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP). DCWP stands at the nexus of consumers, businesses, and working families in New York City and is pioneering how city government can protect and enhance the lives of all of players in the marketplace, including consumers, business and workers, and how that work ultimately fosters stronger, more sustainable, and thriving communities.
08/28/2020. Read Local Law 80 of 2020 which amends the New York City Charter and Administrative Code to change the name of the Department of Consumer Affairs to the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, establish the Office of Labor Standards and the Division of Paid Care as offices within the Department, and update references to these offices and other agency nomenclature.
03/24/2021. Read Notice of Adoption of Rule to clarify that all references to the Department of Consumer Affairs refer to the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.