As of December 29, 2014, a new bill has been signed into law amending various aspects of the New York Labor Law (“NYLL”). This includes various changes to the Wage Theft Prevention Act (“WTPA”), and how the NYLL interacts with limited liability companies, contractors, and successor employers. One of the major components of the new bill is the repeal of the WTPA’s annual wage notice requirement. Outside of the hospitality industry, which must still issue new pay notices to their employees earning minimum wage in 2015 and 2016, employers are now no longer required to provide annual wage notices and to obtain employee acknowledgments. However, employers must still obtain signed acknowledgments at the time of hire from new employees showing that they received wage notices, and the acknowledgments must be written in their primary language.
Another significant change is a substantial increase in penalties for violations of the WTPA. Failure to provide wage notices will go from costing employers $50 per each week the violation continues up to a maximum of $2,500, to $50 per day for a violation, up to a maximum of $5,000. Failure to provide proper paystubs in compliance with the WTPA will now cost $250 per violation, as opposed to the previous $100 per violation, and the statutory cap on these damages has increased to $5,000.
The new bill has also made the 10 largest percentage owners in limited liability companies (“LLC”) jointly and severally liable for all wages, debts, and salaries owed to the LLC’s employees for their services to the LLC. This makes it much easier for employees to collect their wages due, in full, from employers or owners who attempt to deny liability. Additionally, the bill prevents employers from avoiding liability through the use of alter ego companies. If an alter ego company is found to be similar enough to a liable predecessor company, particularly in regards to the type of work, working conditions, and supervisors, then the alter ego is also liable. Finally, all investigations by the Commissioner of any alleged wage payment violations now cover the entire 6 year statute of limitations, unless the Commission notifies affected employees otherwise. Fines and penalties collected by the New York Department of Labor will go to fund the additional costs in the administration and enforcement of the NYLL.
Along with these changes to the NYLL come significant scheduled changes to the wage order rates and credits for the hospitality industry, as directed by the New York Department of Labor. The New York minimum hourly wage rate has changed from $8.00 per hour to $8.75 per hour, effective December 31, 2014. Effective December 31, 2015, the minimum wage rate will again increase to $9.00 per hour. All other changes are provided below.
The New York overtime and employment attorneys at Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP have successfully recovered millions of dollars on behalf of employees who have not been paid their due wages. With such frequent changes to the New York Labor Law, it is important to stay up to date on your rights and what you are entitled to. If you have any questions about how these changes to the New York Labor Law affect your rights as an employee, please contact us at (212) 300-0375 or visit our website at www.fslawfirm.com.
Summary of Wage Order Rates and Credits for the Hospitality Industry Previous Rate New Rate Effective 12/31/14:
Full Minimum Wage and Spread of Hours $8.00 to $8.75
Food Service Workers Minimum Wage $5.00 to $5.00
Food Service Workers Overtime $9.00 to $9.38
Uniform Maintenance Rate (per week)
Over 30 Hours $9.95 to $10.90
Over 20 to 30 hours $7.85 to $8.60
20 hours or less $4.75 to $5.20
Executive and Administrative Exemption
Minimum weekly salary required $600.00 to $656.25