Compliance Watch:

What are my rights as a salaried employee in New York?

New York salaried employees laws define a salaried employee in the state as any employee who receives a fixed amount of compensation at the end of every pay period. Salaried employment guarantees employees a predetermined amount regardless of hours worked and the quality of work. The typical frequency of payment for salaried employees in the state is two weeks but manual workers should be paid weekly. 

Salaried employment falls under two categories based on overtime eligibility. The first category of salaried employees have exempt status and do not qualify for overtime pay regardless of hours worked. The second category comprises non-exempt employees, who earn overtime pay for all time worked beyond 40 hours in a workweek.

It’s important to remember that employment laws and regulations can change over time. Further, specific details may vary depending on your employer’s policies and your employment contract. Therefore, it’s advisable to seek legal counsel or consult with HR professionals for up-to-date information and guidance on employment matters in New York.

Salaried employees in New York have several rights that protect their interests in the workplace and ensure fair treatment. These rights include:

1. Minimum Wage and Overtime Pay: Non-exempt salaried employees in New York are entitled to receive at least the minimum wage of $16.00 for employees in NYC, Suffolk, Nassau, and Westchester and $15.00 for employees in the rest of the state. These employees are also eligible for overtime pay at a rate of 1.5 times their regular hourly rate for time worked above 40 hours in a workweek. Exempt employees, on the other hand, are entitled to the state’s minimum salary threshold of $1,200 per week for employees in New York City, Suffolk, Nassau, and Westchester and $1,124.2 a week for employees in the rest of the state. 
2. Equal Pay for Equal Work: Salaried employees in New York have the right to receive equal pay for performing substantially similar work as their colleagues regardless of gender identity or expression, race, sexual orientation, national origin, family and marital status, disability, military status, age, color, and domestic violence victim status.
3. A Safe and Healthy Workplace: New York state laws extend the right to a safe and healthy work environment to all employees in the state. The laws enact policies that require employers to adopt measures that protect employees who work outdoors and indoors from heat waves, falls, communicable diseases, violence in the workplace, and other health and safety hazards. 
4. Family and Medical Leave: Employers in New York are required to provide paid or unpaid sick leave to employees. Additionally, eligible salaried employees have the right to take unpaid leave for select family and medical reasons as per the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
5. Right to Organize and Join a Union: Article 20 of the New York State Employment Relations Act secures the right of salaried employees to join or organize a labor union, engage in collective bargaining, and participate in protected labor activities without fear of retaliation from their employer.
6. Notice of Termination and Severance Pay: New York is an at-will employment state. Therefore, an employer can terminate an employee’s employment at any time for any legal reason. Upon termination, an employee has the right to receive their final pay on the regularly designated payday. Further, employees must be notified of impending termination as stated on the employment contract.
7. Anti-Discrimination and Harassment Protection: New York has strict employee discrimination laws that protect employees against discrimination and harassment based on the following characteristics: 
   • Race
   • National origin
   • Ethnicity
   • Gender
   • Religion
   • Disability
   • Age
   • Sexual orientation
   • Marital status
   • Military status
   • Genetic predisposition
   • Prior arrests and convictions

The state labor laws also protect victims of stalking, sex offenses, and domestic violence from discrimination in the workplace. 

Please note that specific rights and protections may vary based on individual employment contracts, industry-specific regulations, and changes in state and federal labor laws. It is important to seek legal counsel or consult a human resources professional for guidance on specific rights and entitlements.

Yes, while compensation on a salary basis is a requirement for eligibility for exempt status, it does not preclude all salaried employees from qualifying for and receiving overtime pay. Therefore, overtime pay is applicable to salaried employees in New York with the following exceptions:

• Executive, professional, and administrative employees and outside sales people who meet the exemption criteria established by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
• Individuals Working for a Federal, State, or Municipal Government.
• Certain volunteers, interns, and apprentices.
• Taxicab drivers.
• Members of religious orders.
• Certain employees of religious or charitable institutions,
• Camp counselors.
• Sorority, fraternity, and student or faculty association employees.
• Part-time babysitters.

It is worth noting that healthcare employers are prohibited from requiring nurses to work overtime except during healthcare disasters that require additional personnel, federal, state, or local disasters, unforeseen emergencies, or ongoing procedures for which a nurse’s involvement is needed to ensure a patient’s safety. Second, the state is reducing the overtime threshold of farm workers from the current 60 hours a week to 40 hours a week. The reduction will be gradual, starting January 2024, when farm workers will earn overtime pay for all time worked beyond 56 hours in a workweek.

 Yes. New York state laws identify four categories of deductions that an employer can make from an employee’s wages. These are:

• All Deductions that are Required by the Laws and Regulations of Government Agencies: These include taxes, court-ordered garnishments for child support or alimony, and other legally-mandated deductions.
• Deductions that are Authorized by and for the Benefit of Employees: These include deductions for health and welfare benefits, pension and savings benefits, charitable benefits, union dues, transport benefits, and food and lodging benefits.
• Deductions for Overpayments: Employers can recover overpayments from an employee’s salary if the overpayment was the result of mathematical or clerical errors. 
• Deductions for Advances: Employers can recover salary advances from an employee’s salary. However, this deduction is only allowed if the salary advance does not attract interest.

The following deductions are explicitly prohibited:

• Repayment of loans and advances that attract interest.
• Recovery of unauthorized expenses.
• Fines or penalties for employee lateness, misconduct, long leave periods, and quitting without notice.
• Purchase of tools, equipment, and uniform.
• Recovery of losses from breakages, spoilage, cash shortages, and fines incurred due to employee’ conduct.
• Contributions to political campaigns.

According to the New York state break laws, all employees are entitled to at least one day of rest in every workweek. The day of rest must be a consecutive 24-hour period. 

In addition to the day of rest, employees in the state are entitled to a 60-hour meal break for factory workers and a 30-minute meal break for non-factory workers. The meal break is unpaid for non-exempt employees but the employees must be relieved of all their duties for the entire duration of the break. Employees who start their days before 11:AM and are still at work at 7:PM are entitled to a 20-minute rest break in addition to their meal break.

It is worth mentioning that the state’s labor regulations do not mandate rest breaks for employees who work eight or less hours in a day. However, employers can choose to provide short periods of rest. In such instances, short breaks of up to 20 minutes should be paid. 

Salaried employees in the state are eligible for sick leave based on the size of their employers’ business or company as per the New York state leave laws. Employers with between one and ninety-nine, and one hundred or more employees are required to provide up to 40 and 56 days of sick leave, respectively. Employers with less than 5 employees whose net income for the previous year was less than $4 million are required to provide up to 40 days of unpaid sick leave to employees. All sick leave is accrued at a rate of one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked.[/sc_fs_faq

New York maintains the FLSA’s definition and criteria for exemption. In the state, exempt status refers to an employee’s exclusion from federal and state minimum wage and overtime laws. Therefore, exempt employees are not bound by the federal minimum wage of $7.25 or state minimum wage of $16.00 or $15.00 depending on the employer’s location within the state. 

It is important to note that some categories of salaried employees in New York are only exempt from overtime laws while others are exempt from both overtime laws and minimum wage requirements.

Here is what it means to have exempt status in New York: 

• Compensation Basis: All exempt employees are paid on a salary basis. As per New York state laws, exempt employees receive a predetermined amount of compensation twice a month.
• Overtime Exemption: Exempt employees are excluded from overtime laws. Therefore, they are not eligible for overtime pay even if they work more than 40 hours in a workweek. 
• Minimum Salary Requirement: Compared to federal laws, New York state laws set a higher salary threshold for exempt employees. Exempt employees in the state are entitled to a minimum salary of $1,200 per week for employees in New York City, Suffolk, Nassau, and Westchester and $1,124.2 a week for employees in the rest of the state. 
• Duties: Exempt employees perform specific duties as part of their job responsibilities. Their duties include managerial, supervisory, and professional duties that require advanced education and knowledge.
• Exempt Categories: Exempt employees typically fall into specific categories such as executive, administrative, professional, and outside sales employees. Each category has its own set of criteria that must be met to qualify as exempt.

Determining employee exempt status in New York involves an evaluation of the employee’s duties, basis of compensation, and level of compensation against federal and state wage and hour laws. The following tests will determine whether you are exempt or non-exempt: 

1. Salary Basis Test: Exempt employees must receive a predetermined and fixed salary at least two times in a month regardless of the quality or quantity of their work. 
2. Salary Level Test: The salary of an exempt employee should meet or exceed the minimum salary threshold required for exemption under both federal and New York state law. The current minimum salary threshold for exempt employees in the state is $1,200 for employees in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester, and $1,124.2 for employees in all other parts of the state. 
3. Duties Test: Exempt employees have specific primary duties. New York generally follows the guidelines of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in this regard as follows:
   • Executive Exemption: To qualify for the executive exemption, an employee’s primary duty must involve managing their employer’s enterprise or one of its departments, regularly supervising at least two full-time employees, and having input on the hiring, promotion, or firing of employees.
   • Administrative Exemption: To qualify for the administrative exemption, the primary duties of a salaried employee must involve performing office or non-manual work directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer. Further, the employee’s duties must require them to exercise discretion and independent judgment regarding significant matters in the business. 
   • Professional Exemption: A salaried employee qualifies for the professional exemption if their primary duties either require education or advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning or require the employee to tap into talent, imagination, or innovation to produce original or creative output. Some computer workers, such as software engineers, programmers, and systems analysts are considered professionals and qualify as exempt.
   • Outside Sales Exemption: Salaried sales employees whose primary duties involve making sales or obtaining orders outside the employer’s place of business are exempt.

Salaried employees in New York who pass the salary basis and salary level tests and fall under any of these four categories are exempt from minimum wage and overtime laws.

Non-exempt salaried employees in New York are entitled to receive at least the minimum wage of $16.00 for employees in New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester and $15.00 for employees in the rest of the state. These employees are also eligible for overtime pay at a rate of 1.5 times their regular hourly rate for time worked above 40 hours in a workweek.

Exempt employees, on the other hand, are entitled to the state’s minimum salary threshold of $1,200 per week for employees in New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester and $1,124.2 a week for employees in the rest of the state.

Eligible salaried employees accrue overtime pay at a rate of 1.5 times their regular pay for all time worked beyond 40 hours in a workweek as per the New York overtime laws. Salaried public officers and employees of federal or state agencies can opt for compensatory time in lieu of overtime pay. Comp time is accrued at a rate of 1.5 hours of comp time for every overtime hour for up to 240 hours in one year. Employees can use up to 120 days of comp time at a time.

Employers in New York are allowed to make the following deductions from the salaries of their employees:

• Mandatory Deductions: Employers can make all the deductions that are required by courts of law or the regulations of government agencies. These include federal and state income taxes, court-ordered garnishments for child support or alimony, and other legally-mandated deductions.
• Voluntary Deductions: Employers are obliged to make deductions that are authorized by employees for their benefit. These include deductions for health and welfare benefits, retirement contributions, savings, charitable donations, union dues, transport benefits, and food and lodging benefits.
• Deductions for Overpayments: Employers can recover overpayments from an employee’s salary if the overpayment was the result of mathematical or clerical errors. 
• Deductions for Advances: Employers can recover salary advances from an employee’s salary. However, this deduction is only allowed if the salary advance does not attract interest.

New York labor laws prohibit the following deductions explicitly:

• Repayment of loans and advances that attract interest.
• Recovery of unauthorized expenses.
• Fines or penalties for employee lateness, misconduct, long leave periods, and quitting without notice.
• Deductions for the purchase of tools, equipment, and uniform.
• Recovery of losses from breakages, spoilage, cash shortages, and fines incurred due to employee’ conduct.
• Contributions to political campaigns.

New York state laws provide a wide range of benefits and protections to employees to ensure fair and equitable treatment in the workplace. These include:

• Minimum Wage Protection: Non-exempt employees in New York are entitled to a higher minimum wage than the federal minimum wage while exempt employees have a higher minimum salary threshold ensuring that they receive a fair and competitive wage for their work.
• Overtime Pay: Non-exempt salaried employees in New York are entitled to overtime pay when they exceed 40 hours of work in a workweek. Some employees can opt for compensatory time instead of overtime pay. 
• Paid Leave: Employees in New York are entitled to paid or unpaid sick leave when unwell or when taking care of members of their immediate family. The length of sick leave and whether or not they are compensated for their time off depends on their employers’ net income and number of employees. Eligible employees are entitled to unpaid leave as per the FMLA as well. 
• Protection from Discrimination: New York state laws protect employees from discrimination based on race, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, and other protected traits. Employees are protected from harassment and retaliation as well. 
• Protection for Minors: Employees aged 14-15 years are prohibited from working for more than 3 hours on school days, 8 hours on non-school days, more than 18 hours in a week, and more than 6 days in a week. 

 Specific protections and benefits may vary depending on the size of the employer, terms of collective bargaining agreements, and company policy. Further, employment laws can change over time. Therefore, it’s advisable to stay informed about your rights and consult legal experts if you believe your rights have been violated.

Employers in New York can violate labor laws by paying employees less than the minimum wage or minimum salary threshold, misclassifying employees to avoid paying overtime, requiring minors to work longer than the stipulated threshold, and failing to provide meal breaks as required by law. The state consolidates all violation claims into one form, which you can use to report suspected workplace violations.