New York Employment Law

An employee’s regular working hours may not exceed the legal maximum of 40 hours weekly (exclusive Overtime). 

Workweek: New York minimum wage laws define a workweek as 7 consecutive 24-hour periods or a regular repeating span of 168 hours. A workweek may begin at any hour of the day and on any day of the week and does not have to coincide with a calendar week.

Work Schedules: Employers are obligated to accommodate an employee’s request for a temporary change in their work schedule, relating to personal events. This adjustment can include modifications in working hours, locations, or the use of paid time off, remote work, or short-term unpaid leave. The employer must approve such requests twice a year, with each request limited to one business day. Alternatively, the employer can allow the employee to use 2 business days for a single request, eliminating the need for a second request.

Stand By – An employer is required to count employee waiting time as hours worked for purposes of its minimum wage and overtime requirements if the employees are required to remain available to work at or near the employer’s premises and are unable to use the time productively for their purposes.

On-call time – The state law mandates that employers must include on-call time as part of hours worked for minimum wage and overtime calculations. This applies when employees are obligated to remain available for work on or near the employer’s premises and cannot use the time for personal activities. However, certain exceptions exist, employers are not required to count as hours worked the time when an employee who resides on the employer’s premises is present but is:

• • • During regular sleeping hours, even if they are on-call
    • Any other time when the employee is free to leave the employer’s premises but voluntarily chooses to stay.

Travel time – The state laws require employers to count employee travel time as hours worked for purposes of its minimum wage and overtime requirements if the travel is part of the employee’s duties.

Show up or reporting time – Call-in pay, also known as show up or reporting pay, is mandated by New York minimum wage laws for all employees, excluding those in nonprofit institutions. In the non-hospitality industry, employers must pay a minimum of 4 hours or the scheduled shift hours, whichever is less, at the standard minimum wage when requesting an employee to report for work, regardless of actual work performed. For hospitality industry employees, the call-in pay requirements vary:

• • • • At least 3 hours for one shift or the scheduled shift hours, whichever is less.
      • At least 6 hours for two shifts totaling 6 hours or less, or the scheduled shift hours, whichever is less.
      • At least 8 hours for three shifts totaling 8 hours or less, or the scheduled shift hours, whichever is less.

Exception: The Call-in Pay law does not apply to certain entities and occupations. Specifically, exemptions include non-profit organizations, federal, state, or municipal government organizations, and certain job roles such as babysitters, companions, booth renters, farm laborers (covered under the farmworker minimum wage order), individuals in executive, administrative, or professional capacities, outside salespersons, taxicab drivers, and students.

Spilt Shift (Spread of hours): The laws mandate employers in the hospitality industry, non-profit institutions, religious, charitable, educational institutions, hotels, restaurants, and bars to provide an additional hour of pay at the standard minimum wage under the following circumstances:

• • • • • If employees work more than a spread of 10 hours in a workday.
        • If employees work a split shift.
        • If both scenarios mentioned above occur.

A split shift is defined as a daily schedule with non-consecutive working hours, excluding meal periods of one hour or less. The 10-hour spread includes any breaks, meals, or other off-duty periods.

Recording Requirements: Every employer shall keep at the place of employment or at the employer’s principal place of business in New York, a true and accurate record for each employee for at least 6  years from the date of entry which contains the following information:

• • name and address;
  • social security number;
  • wage rate;
  • the number of hours worked daily and weekly, including the time of arrival and departure of each employee working a split shift or spread of hours exceeding 10;
  • when a piece-rate method of payment is used, the number of units produced daily and weekly (required for for-profit employers only);
  • the amount of gross wages;deductions from gross wages;
  • allowances, if any, claimed as part of the minimum wage;
  • net wages paid; and
  • student classification (required for for-profit employers only).

Any work performed beyond 40 hours in a work week is considered overtime work. An employee who works more than 40 hours in their work week except if the employee is otherwise exempted will be entitled to receive overtime pay.

Pay – An employee is entitled to premium pay at the rate of 1.5 times their regular rate for all hours worked excess in a workweek.

Weekly Rest: An employee is entitled to receive employee at least 24 consecutive hours of rest in any calendar week.

Meal Break: Employees are entitled to meal break in the below manner:

Factory employees are entitled to a 60-minute lunch break between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. and a 60-minute meal break at the time midway between the beginning and end of the shift for all shifts of more than six hours starting between 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. and lasting more than six hours.

Non-factory employees are entitled to a 30-minute lunch break between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. for shifts six hours or longer that extend over that period and a 45-minute meal break at the time midway between the beginning and end of the shift for all shifts of more than six hours starting between 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

All employees are entitled to an additional 20-minute meal break between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. for workdays that extend from before 11:00 a.m. to after 7:00 p.m.

In cases where only one person is on duty or is the only person employed in a specific occupation, the employee may eat on the job without being relieved, where the employee voluntarily consents to the arrangement.

Meal periods are not required to be counted as “hours worked” and employees are not required to be paid for such time.

Breastfeeding Breaks – An employer must provide 30 minutes of paid break time to employees who need to express breast milk for a nursing child at work. Employees must also be allowed to use any paid rest break or meal time for breast milk expression above 30 minutes. 

Furthermore, upon request of an employee who chooses to express breast milk in the workplace, an employer shall designate a room or other location that shall be made available for use by such employee to express breast milk.