A new piece of legislation introduced in Westchester would protect day laborers who aren't being paid.

Celestino Gonzalez says he never got back the $500 owed to him after doing hard labor for one week for a private contractor.

"When you lose a week or even three days, you don't have the money to survive," Gonzalez says.

Gonzalez is one of many who joined county legislators in White Plains Monday to introduce a bill that would protect workers from being underpaid or not paid at all.

Studies show nearly 27,000 workers in the state were short-changed by employers in 2014 alone.

The proposed legislation also has new protections for consumers who are hiring contractors requiring disclosure about proposed work in writing.

A piece of legislation to protect these workers was introduced about a year ago but did not pass.