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Wage Theft Prevention Act
The newest amendments to New York State’s labor law, the Wage Theft Prevention Act (WTPA), became effective April 9, 2011. The WTPA is a comprehensive Act that changes many of the notice requirements employers must comply with for each employee. The WTPA is applicable to all private sector employees, including charter schools, private schools and not-for-profit corporations because they are not public entities. The Act is not applicable to federal, state, or local government employees or employees in other states.
The requirements of the WTPA are integrated below into the sections that follow, which discuss the labor law’s worker protection requirements.
Minimum Wage
The New York State minimum wage is $7.25 per hour as of July 24, 2009 as a result of the increase in the federal wage rate. Employers must display a Minimum Wage information poster in their facilities.
Notice of Pay Rates and Regular Payday - Employers
Employers must give employees at the time of hire and each year before February 1, notice of their rates of pay and regular payday. The notice required by the labor law must include: the employee’s rate or rates of pay; the overtime rate of pay, if the employee is subject to overtime regulations; the basis of the wage payments (per hour, per shift, per week, piece rate, commission, etc.); any allowances the employer intends to claim as part of the minimum wage, including tip, meal and lodging allowances; the regular pay day; the employer’s name and any names under which the employer does business (D/B/A); the physical address of the employer’s main office or principal place of business and, if different, the mailing address; and the employer’s telephone number.
The notice must be provided on a form available from the New York State Department of Labor or a form created by the employer that meets the requirements. It must be given to new employees before they do any work and between January 1 and February 1 of each year for all other employees. The notice can be included with other new hire paperwork, but must be on its own form and cannot be waived by the employee. If the notice is provided in electronic format it must be a system where the employee can acknowledge receipt and print a copy of the notice. The notice must be provided in the employee’s primary language as identified by the employee. The employee must sign and acknowledge receipt of the notice and the acknowledgement must be in the employee’s primary language. The New York State Department of Labor has made available on its website several interpretations of the notice to assist employers. See forms LS 55:Notice and Acknowledgement of Pay Rate and Payday<
