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Reminder: 2018 New York State Minimum Wage and Exempt Salary Thresholds Increased
As we are now well into the new calendar year, New York employers are reminded to comply with the incremental minimum wage increases and corresponding increases to the salary level thresholds for employees to qualify as “exempt” from most New York overtime requirements. As reported in our previous Employment Note, these increases were adopted by the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) in December 2016.
New York minimum wage increases
In 2018, the minimum wage for employees working in New York City for “large” employers (i.e., those with 11 or more employees) increased to $13.00 per hour, and the minimum wage for employees working in New York City for “small” employers (i.e., those with 10 or fewer employees) increased to $12.00 per hour. Remember, when determining whether a company qualifies as a large or small employer, all employees must be counted, regardless of where they work as long as one employee works in New York City. The full schedule of increases to the New York State hourly minimum wage, including those in regions outside of the City, as well as the increases applicable to the hospitality industry, can be found in our previous Employment Note.
New York exempt employee salary threshold increases
In 2018, an employee working in New York City for a “large” employer must earn at least $975 per week to qualify as an exempt executive or administrative employee in New York, and an employee working in New York City for a “small” employer must earn at least $900 per week to qualify as exempt from most overtime requirements. As with the full schedule of New York minimum wage increases, the schedule of New York State-wide increases to the minimum salary thresholds for exempt employees can be viewed in our previous Employment Note.
Given these latest increases, New York employers should be sure their minimum wage rates are up-to-date and that employees classified as exempt from overtime are being paid the requisite minimum salary, in order to avoid severe penalties imposed by the NYSDOL and help mitigate the risk of costly wage and hour litigation. Employers should also confirm that their mandatory workplace posters are updated to reflect the 2018 wage rates.
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Employment Notes, a newsletter produced by Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP’s Employment Law practice, provides insights on recent employment caselaw, legislation and other legal developments impacting employer policies, human resource strategies and related best practices. To subscribe to the newsletter, email marketing@thsh.com.
03.01.2018 | PUBLICATION: Employment Notes | TOPICS: Employment