In the Autumn 2009 Employment Law Insider Alert we informed employers about amendments to the New York State Labor Law that require employers to provide written notice to all newly hired employees of 1) rate of pay, 2) regular paydays and 3) the overtime rate of pay, if applicable. Newly hired employees also are required to sign a statement acknowledging receipt of the written notice, and the statement is to be maintained by the employer for at least six years.

Wage Notice to Current Employees

As part of the Wage Theft Prevention Act, which became effective April 9, 2011 (see Employment Law Insider Alert, January 2011), Section 195.1 of the New York State Labor Law now also requires all private sector employers to provide, on or before February 1 of each year, notice of the following to all current employees:

  1. the employee's rate or rates of pay;
  2. the overtime rate of pay, if the employee is covered by overtime regulations;
  3. the basis of wage payment (per hour, per shift, per week, commission, etc.);
  4. any allowances the employer intends to claim as part of the minimum wage including tip, meal and lodging;
  5. the regular payday;
  6. the employer's name, and names under which the employer does business (DBA);
  7. the physical address of the employer's main office or principal place of business and, if different, the employer's mailing address; and
  8. the employer's telephone number.

When

The first such written notice is required between January and February 1, 2012. Employers also must 1) have the employee sign a statement acknowledging receipt of the notice, in English (or the employee's primary language), 2) must keep the signed and dated notice for six years and 3) must provide a copy to the employee.

Template Forms Available:

The New York State Department of Labor has prepared notice and acknowledgement form templates for a variety of common types of worker classifications/pay agreements, including a number of dual-language versions of the notice and acknowledgement form. These are available on the New York State Department of Labor website. We have provided links1 to three of the most common template forms here: 1) hourly employees, 2) salaried employees working up to 40 hours per week and 3) salaried employees exempt from overtime.

How

Employers have the option of providing the notice electronically, but workers must be able to access and print a copy of the notice for their records on a workplace-provided computer.

Penalties

  • The wage notice requirement is mandatory and may not be waived by employees.
  • Employers that fail to provide a proper wage notice may be assessed fines up to $50 per week per employee, to a cap of $2,500 per worker.
  • Retaliation against complaining employees in the form of termination, suspension, transfer, reduction in pay or demotion also is prohibited and is punishable by fines of up to $10,000 plus liquidated damages.

Bennett Pine is a shareholder in Anderson Kill's New York and Newark offices and is chair of the firm's employment & labor group. Mr. Pine has broad-based labor and employment law experience and regularly plays a hands-on role offering preventative maintenance advice and counseling to employers in the full range of legal issues affecting the workplace.

About Anderson Kill & Olick, P.C.

Anderson Kill practices law in the areas of Insurance Recovery, Anti-Counterfeiting, Antitrust, Bankruptcy, Commercial Litigation, Corporate & Securities, Employment & Labor Law, Health Reform, Intellectual Property, International Arbitration, Real Estate & Construction, Tax, and Trusts & Estates. Best-known for its work in insurance recovery, the firm represents policyholders only in insurance coverage disputes, with no ties to insurance companies and no conflicts of interest. Clients include Fortune 1000 companies, small and medium-sized businesses, governmental entities, and nonprofits as well as personal estates. Based in New York City, the firm also has offices in Newark, NJ, Philadelphia, PA, Stamford, CT, Ventura, CA and Washington, DC. For companies seeking to do business internationally, Anderson Kill, through its membership in Interleges, a consortium of similar law firms in some 20 countries, can provide service throughout the world.

Anderson Kill represents policyholders only in insurance coverage disputes, with no ties to insurance companies, no conflicts of interest, and no compromises in its devotion to policyholder interests alone.

The information appearing in this article does not constitute legal advice or opinion. Such advice and opinion are provided by the firm only upon engagement with respect to specific factual situations