Tag: minimum wage

Top Posts of 2019

Top Posts of 2019

As the year ends, we again review the most viewed New York Management Law Blog posts from this year. Did you miss any of the top posts of 2019?

These posts reflect some topics that most interested New York employers in 2019. Do they also suggest what will be top of mind in 2020?

Curious about last year? Click to see what posts made the list in 2018.

2020 New York Minimum Wage

Our annual post reminding employers of increases to both minimum wage and the salary threshold for overtime exemptions under state law remained a must-read.

Remember, these changes take effect on December 31, 2019, not January 1st. If you haven’t adjusted accordingly yet, now’s the time!

The required pay levels will continue to rise in the coming years. This post includes charts showing those planned increases.

Recovering Overpaid Wages in New York

Beyond addressing how much you have to pay them, New York also has strict rules about making deductions from employee compensation. Employers can withhold pay to recoup overpaid wages, but must satisfy detailed requirements to do so.

This post provides the basics of when and how employers can get their money back through payroll deductions. Don’t try it without this guidance. Even then, be cautious and seek professional assistance.

Readers were also quite interested in this more general review of the New York Wage Deduction Rules.

How Far Will New York Go?

2019 featured the extensive expansion of employee rights, and we expect more in 2020.

In addition to broader employment discrimination laws, New York imposed a statewide salary history ban. As of January 6, 2020, New York employers may not “seek, request, or require the wage or salary history from an applicant or current employee as a condition”:

  • to be interviewed,
  • of continuing to be considered for an offer of employment, or
  • of employment or promotion.

The State Legislature also passed legislation that would have permitted employees to use Paid Family Leave Benefits for bereavement leave. Governor Cuomo vetoed that law in 2019. But there are indications that the State will revisit the subject in 2020.

Workplace bullying was another item of notable interest among our readers. We wouldn’t be surprised to see New York add new protections in this area in the foreseeable future.

What’s Changing Under the FLSA?

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act governs minimum wage and overtime requirements throughout the United States.

In 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor finalized a rule that changes how some companies will calculate their employees’ overtime pay. The rule takes effect on January 15, 2020. It will generally act to decrease overtime rates.

The U.S. DOL also addressed who qualifies for exemptions from overtime pay in the first place. Beginning January 1, 2020, the weekly salary requirement for the FLSA administrative, executive, and professional exemptions will increase from $455 to $684. However, this probably won’t change much in New York, where the exemption threshold is already higher.

Employers Regain Control Over Company Email Use

As in recent years, the National Labor Relations Board has issued several significant decisions at year-end. Our readers have been most interested in this one about whether employees have the right to use company email for nonwork purposes.

For five years, most non-supervisory employees at private companies had that right. Now, most don’t.

Find out more about why the NLRB reinstated employer control over company property here.

Don’t Stop at the Top Posts of 2019!

I hope you find it helpful to look back at what happened last year, but you should also look forward. For some of the reasons stated above, and others, 2020 could be another big year in employment law. Please continue to follow the New York Management Law Blog for updates.

One great way to keep up with emerging topics in New York labor and employment law is to subscribe to our monthly email newsletter. If you want more frequent news and insights, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn!

See you in 2020!

2020 New York Minimum Wage

2020 New York Minimum Wage

Do you know the 2020 New York minimum wage? Employers must be ready before the end of the year to meet the new requirements.

The 2020 New York minimum wage rates are shaded in blue in the tables below. Note that the changes take effect on the last day of the year, not January 1st.

[Follow us on LinkedIn for frequent updates for New York employers.]

Standard New York Minimum Wage

The 2020 New York minimum wage varies by geographic location, employer size (where applicable), and sometimes by industry.

For most private employers, the 2019 New York minimum wage in the following chart applies. This chart also applies for non-teaching employees of public school districts or a BOCES. However, there is no New York minimum wage for other employees of public (governmental) employers (but the federal minimum wage of $7.25 does apply).

General Minimum Wage Rate Schedule
Location12/31/1812/31/1912/31/2012/31/21
NYC – Large Employers (of 11 or more)$15.00$15.00
NYC – Small Employers (10 or less)$13.50$15.00
Long Island & Westchester$12.00$13.00$14.00$15.00
Remainder of New York State$11.10$11.80$12.50TBD*

* Annual increases for the rest of the state will continue until the rate reaches a $15 minimum wage. Starting in 2021, the annual increases will be published by the Commissioner of Labor by October 1. They will be based on percentage increases determined by the Director of the Division of Budget, based on economic indices, including the Consumer Price Index.

Minimum Wage for Tipped Employees in the Hospitality Industry

New York State has separate minimum wage rules for employees in the hospitality industry. These rules apply to businesses running a restaurant or hotel.

The minimum wage rates for most non-tipped employees in the hospitality industry are set as per the schedule above. However, employers may count a portion of certain tipped employees’ gratuities toward the minimum wage requirements. This is known as a “tip credit.”

New York State has two separate cash wage and tip credit schedules for tipped hospitality employees who qualify as “food service workers” and “service employees.”

Food Service Workers

A food service worker is any employee who is primarily engaged in serving food or beverages to guests, patrons, or customers in the hospitality industry who regularly receive tips. This includes wait staff, bartenders, captains, and busing personnel. It does not include delivery workers.

Hospitality Industry Tipped Minimum Wage Rate Schedule (Food Service Workers)
Location12/31/1812/31/1912/31/2012/31/21
NYC – Large Employers
(of 11 or more)		$10.00 Cash

$5.00 Tip

$10.00 Cash

$5.00 Tip

NYC – Small Employers
(10 or less)		$9.00 Cash

$4.50 Tip

$10.00 Cash

$5.00 Tip

Long Island & Westchester$8.00 Cash

$4.00 Tip

$8.65 Cash

$4.35 Tip

$9.35 Cash

$4.65 Tip

$10.00 Cash

$5.00 Tip

Remainder of New York State$7.50 Cash

$3.60 Tip

$7.85 Cash

$3.95 Tip

$8.35 Cash

$4.15 Tip

Service Employees

The next schedule applies to other service employees. A service employee is one who is not a food service worker or fast food employee who customarily receives tips above an applicable tip threshold (which also follows schedules, not shown here).

Hospitality Industry Tipped Minimum Wage Rate Schedule (Service Employees)
Location12/31/1812/31/1912/31/2012/31/21
NYC – Large Employers
(of 11 or more)		$12.50 Cash

$2.50 Tip

$12.50 Cash

$2.50 Tip

NYC – Small Employers
(10 or less)		$11.25 Cash

$2.25 Tip

$12.50 Cash

$2.50 Tip

Long Island & Westchester$10.00 Cash

$2.00 Tip

$10.85 Cash

$2.15 Tip

$11.65 Cash

$2.35 Tip

$12.50 Cash

$2.50 Tip

Remainder of New York State$9.25 Cash

$1.85 Tip

$9.85 Cash

$1.95 Tip

$10.40 Cash

$2.10 Tip

Fast Food Minimum Wage

Non-exempt employees at some “fast food” restaurants are subject to an alternative minimum wage schedule.

This schedule applies to employees who work in covered fast food restaurants whose job duties include at least one of the following: customer service, cooking, food or drink preparation, delivery, security, stocking supplies or equipment, cleaning, or routine maintenance.

These special New York minimum wage rates only apply to fast food restaurants that are part of a chain with at least 30 restaurants nationally.

Fast Food Minimum Wage Rate Schedule
Location12/31/1812/31/1912/31/207/1/2021
New York City$15.00 $15.00
Outside of New York City$12.75$13.75 $14.50 $15.00

Note: No tip credit is available for fast food employees.

Overtime Threshold

Along with increases to the 2019 New York minimum wage, the salary requirement to maintain some overtime exemptions will also increase.

The salary threshold for New York’s executive and administrative exemptions go up on December 31st. These amounts are all higher than the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) threshold, which will increase from $455/week to $684/week on January 1, 2020. But most New York employers (other than governmental entities) must satisfy the higher New York threshold to ensure full overtime exemption.

There is no salary requirement for New York’s professional exemption. But employers must also satisfy the FLSA threshold for most professional employees. Doctors, lawyers, and teachers do not have a salary requirement for exemption.

Executive & Administrative Exemption Weekly Salary Threshold Schedule
Location12/31/1812/31/1912/31/2012/31/21
NYC – Large Employers (of 11 or more)$1,125.00$1,125.00
NYC – Small Employers (10 or less)$1,012.50$1,125.00
Long Island & Westchester$900.00$975.00$1,050.00$1,125.00
Remainder of New York State$832.00$885.00$937.50TBD*

Prepare Now for the 2020 New York Minimum Wage

New York employers should review their compensation levels and make necessary changes by December 31, 2019. This might result in increasing an employee’s hourly wage or salary or reclassifying exempt employees to non-exempt if they will no longer meet the exemption salary requirement.

And, remember, the 2020 New York minimum wage rates only last one year in many cases. Companies will have to review this again next year.

To keep up on New York and federal wage and hour requirements and other employment law topics, you can sign up for our email newsletter here or follow us on LinkedIn!

Top Posts of 2018

Top Posts of 2018

As the year ends, we again review the most viewed New York Management Law Blog posts from this year. Did you miss any of the top posts of 2018?

These posts reflect some topics that most interested New York employers in 2018. Do they also suggest what will be top of mind in 2019?

Curious about last year? Click to see what posts made the list in 2017.

2019 New York Minimum Wage

Like last year, our post reminding employers of increases to both minimum wage and the salary threshold for overtime exemptions under state law caught readers’ eye.

Remember these changes take effect on December 31, 2018, not January 1st. If you haven’t adjusted accordingly yet, don’t delay any longer!

And there are still more increases scheduled for the years to come. This post includes charts showing those planned increases.

Sexual Harassment Draws More Attention

Well-publicized harassment allegations beginning in October 2017 put sexual harassment prevention on the top of our minds this year. Both the federal and New York state governments took deliberate action to address the unfortunate reality.

In April 2018, the New York Legislature enacted extensive legal requirements aimed at workplace sexual harassment. These included the obligation that all employers in the state adopt written sexual harassment policies and provide annual sexual harassment prevention training to all employees.

Employers were eager to learn more about what the New York Department of Labor would expect from them to meet the policy and training requirements. This made “First Look: NYS Model Sexual Harassment Policy & Training” one of our top posts of 2018. When the DOL updated its guidance closer to the October 9, 2018 effective date, we likewise offered an update.

In October, we also received telling data from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). We examined this in “EEOC Releases 2018 Sexual Harassment Statistics.” The EEOC initially reported that after steadily declining over the previous decade, sexual harassment charges went up more than 12% in the fiscal year ending September 2018. In “EEOC: 2018 Sexual Harassment Data Even Worse” we discussed the final numbers showing a 13.6% increase.

The FMLA Is Always a Hot Topic

All the hype in 2017 was about the launch of New York’s Paid Family Leave Program. In 2018, the federal Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA) turned 25 years old. But employers remain interested in learning more about what it means and how it works.

One of the most viewed posts of the year contrasted these two significant legal regimes. “New York Paid Family Leave vs. FMLA” takes a look at employer coverage, employee eligibility, qualifying circumstances, compensation, and other issues under these laws.

And after a year of learning when an employee might have rights under the New York Paid Family Leave, employers became even more interested in double checking “Who Is an FMLA Eligible Employee?”

Drugs in the Workplace

Another issue that hasn’t gone away is employee drug use. Amidst a continuing national debate over the legalization of marijuana, readers were interested in what existing employment laws say about drugs generally.

What Does the Drug-Free Workplace Act Require?

This federal law doesn’t go as far as most people probably think. First, it only applies to businesses that have sufficiently large contracts with the federal government.

The Drug-Free Workplace Act requires these covered employers to adopt a drug-free workplace policy and establish a drug-free awareness program. However, it does not force these companies to fire employees who bring drugs to work or work under the influence of illegal drugs.

Drug Testing New York Employees

Employers in New York (and most other states in the U.S.) have broad rights to test employees for drug use. But many sources of law touch on the subject. That’s probably why this post was so popular with readers trying to determine their rights and obligations in various situations. (It was the #1 most viewed post on the New York Management Law Blog in 2018!)

Vacation Pay in New York

New York employers don’t have to let employees take paid vacations. But if they do offer a vacation benefit, the parameters must be clearly described in writing.

If you haven’t done so recently, now’s a good time to review your vacation pay policy. Use this post as a starting point.

What is Executive Order 11246?

You’d be surprised how many people asked that question in 2018. (I was.) This was actually our second most viewed post of the year. So, what is it?

Signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965, this Executive Order imposes anti-discrimination and affirmative action requirements upon covered federal contractors. For example, companies with more than 50 employees and a contract with the U.S. government for at least $50,000 must maintain written affirmative action plans.

Although the Executive Order remains in place, the federal Office of Federal Contract Compliance (OFCCP), which oversees Executive Order 11246, has occasionally made the news over the past year or so. It recently announced several new policies on November 30, 2018.

What Are Employees Up To?

Two other top posts of 2018 addressed the reality that your employees don’t always want to be working (at least, for you).

Should You Let Employees Watch the World Cup?

Though less popular in the United States, the 2018 FIFA World Cup was one of the biggest global events of the year. For one month this summer, fans around the world cheered their favorite soccer nations. Before the contest began, we considered some pros and cons of letting employees watch the matches during work time.

Your Employee Has a Side Hustle

Many employees with regular full- or part-time jobs are also working on a personal business venture on the side. This is not necessarily good or bad in itself. Situations vary. But this post raised many legal considerations for employers ranging from conflicts of interests to federal leave laws.

Don’t Stop at the Top Posts of 2018!

I hope you find it helpful to look back at what happened last year, but you should also look forward. Please continue to follow the New York Management Law Blog in 2019.

The best way (in my opinion) to stay informed of the hottest topics in New York labor and employment law is to subscribe to our monthly email newsletter. It not only recaps our recent blog posts, but also announces upcoming free webinars that help you stay in compliance.

See you in 2019!