N.Y. SOS Law § 137-A

§ 137-a. Exemption of earnings of recipients from assignment, income\nexecution and installment payment order. 1. All wages, salary,\ncommissions or other compensation paid or payable by an employer to a\nperson while he is in receipt of public assistance or care supplementary\nto his income pursuant to the provisions of titles three, four, five,\nsix and ten of article five of this chapter, or while he would otherwise\nneed such assistance or care, shall be exempt from assignment, income\nexecution or from an installment payment order under the laws of this\nstate but only so long as such public assistance or care, shall continue\nor would be needed if the assignment, income execution or installment\npayment order were enforced. The claim of the creditor shall in all\nother respects remain unaffected. Any employer who shall withhold or pay\nover to a person presenting an income execution installment payment\norder or assignment, any portion of the earnings of such a recipient of\npublic assistance or care, after receiving notification in writing from\na social services official that the employee is receiving public\nassistance or care, or that he would become in need of public assistance\nor care if the assignment, income execution or installment payment order\nwere enforced, shall be liable in an action by such recipient for the\namount so paid or withheld contrary to the provisions of this section. A\nsocial services official sending such notification to an employer shall\nbe required to notify the employer, in writing, of the termination of\nsuch receipt and need for public assistance and care of the employee\ninvolved when this shall occur. Upon receipt of such notice of\ntermination the employer may commence or resume, as the case may be,\npayment and withholding under any assignment, income execution or\ninstallment payment order whose effectiveness was postponed or suspended\nby this section.\n 2. As used in this section, "public assistance and care" shall include\nfederal supplemental security income benefits paid pursuant to title\nsixteen of the federal social security act and additional state payments\npaid pursuant to title six of article five of this chapter.\n