Employment - Facts About Your Rights to be Paid

Minimum Wage

All workers have a right to earn at least the minimum wage - $6.75/hour in New York State as of January 1, 2006.?If you earn tips as a food service worker, the tips can account for only $2.40/hour, and your employer must pay you at least $4.35/hour.

Overtime

All workers have the right to earn one and a half their regular hourly rate for every hour over 40 hours per week.?For example, if you normally make $8/hour, you must be paid $12/hour.?If you earn minimum wage ($6.75/hour), you must be paid $10.13/hour.

Spread of Hours

New York requires employers to pay an additional hour of pay at minimum wage ($6.75/hour) for every day that the number of hours worked exceeds 10 hours.

Prevailing Wages

Most manual laborers working on city or otherwise government-funded projects have the right to earn the "prevailing wage," or union wage.  You do not have to belong to a union to assert the right to this wage.

Record Keeping

Protect your right as a worker is to be paid by keeping good records.  Many employers who violate the wage and hour laws fail to keep accurate employment records.  Your records are useful as evidence of hours worked and wages owed.

Records you should keep:

Paycheck stubs, records of hours and dates worked, records of actual and promised payment, contact information for your employer and any larger company the employer is working for, any written documents about wages, contact information of co-workers, and wage claims made to the Department of Labor.

Immigrant Applicability

Wage and hour laws protect both documented and undocumented workers.  The NY State Dept. of Labor and the NY State Attorney General's Office have told us that they do not share immigration information with immigration authorities.

Retaliation

Federal and state laws protect employees who assert their right to be paid from retaliatory actions by the employer.  In order to qualify for protection from retaliation, you must first complain to your employer, then file a complaint with the Dept of Labor, and testify or plan to testify in a labor proceeding.

Your employer may not:

reduce your earnings by demanding that you pay for missing cash from the register, pay for broken items or poor service, pay for the purchase and cleaning of uniforms required for the job, or deduct money from your paycheck as punishment for being late or missing work or for required health and safety equipment.  Deductions from your paycheck should be only be made for taxes, health benefits, union dues, or court-ordered payments like child support or wage garnishment.