New York State Labor Laws

The minimum wage in New York varies based on location, industry, and in some cases, employer size. As of 2024, the rates are:

Fast Food Workers

Fast Food Employees throughout New York State must be paid at least:

• $16.00 per hour in 2024 (NYC, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester)
• $15.00 per hour in 2024 (rest of state)
• $16.50 per hour in 2025 (NYC, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester)
• $15.50 per hour in 2025 (rest of state)
• $17.00 per hour in 2026 (NYC, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester)
• $16.00 per hour in 2026 (rest of state)

Under federal and New York law, an employee is entitled to overtime when they work more than forty (40) hours during the workweek, regardless of the employee's rate of pay or whether they are paid a salary.

The overtime rate must be at least 1.5 times the employee's regular rate of pay. This applies unless the employee is legally exempt from overtime requirements.

Important notes about overtime:

• Overtime is calculated based on hours worked in a workweek, not by day
• Tips cannot be included when calculating the overtime rate
• Most hospitality workers are entitled to overtime pay

Under New York State's Hospitality Industry Wage Order, employees are entitled to an extra hour of pay at the minimum wage rate when:

• The workday spans more than 10 hours from the beginning to the end of the day
• This applies even if there are breaks or non-working time during that period
• The 10+ hours are calculated from the time an employee starts work until the time they finish

Definition of Tips

Tips are money given voluntarily by customers directly to employees. Tips belong to the employee who receives them, but can be subject to valid tip pooling arrangements.

Tip Credits

While employers can take a "tip credit" and pay tipped employees a lower cash wage, they must ensure that the sum of the cash wage plus tips equals at least the full minimum wage. As of January 1, 2021, the tip credit was eliminated for most miscellaneous industries, but still applies to hospitality workers.

Tip Pooling & Sharing

Tip pooling refers to the collection of all or a portion of employee's tips and redistributing them among eligible employees. Important rules about tip pooling:

• Only employees who provide direct service to customers can be part of a tip pool
• Management and supervisors cannot participate in a tip pool
• Employers must notify employees about tip pooling arrangements
• Tip pools must be distributed based on a reasonable and customary formula

A service charge is an amount added to a customer's bill, typically as a percentage of the total. Under New York law:

• A service charge belongs to the employer unless it is clearly communicated to customers that the charge will be distributed to employees
• If a service charge is meant to be a gratuity, the charge must be clearly labeled with terms like "gratuity" or "tip"
• Administrative fees that are not distributed to employees must be clearly labeled as such and indicate they are not gratuities for staff