Articles Discussing New York Wage & Hour Laws.

NYS Legislature and Governor Hochul Reach Agreement in State Budget to Limit Damages on Frequency-of-Pay Cases

In a significant development for New York employers, the New York State Legislature and Governor Kathy Hochul have agreed to amend the New York Labor Law (NYLL) to limit the damages available in so-called

Each year, the New York State Department of Financial Services announces changes to the employee contribution rate and benefit amounts under the New York Paid Family Leave Law (NY PFL) effective the next year. It has announced changes effective Jan. 1, 2025.

The following are the announced changes to the

Executive Summary: The New York State Legislature’s recently passed budget included a provision making pregnant employees eligible for employer paid time off from work for doctor appointments, medical procedures or other types of prenatal care. This new law becomes effective January 1, 2025. It is the first state law in the nation to require such paid prenatal care benefits. It only applies to private sector employees in New York. 

Making New York the first state to mandate paid prenatal leave, the legislature on April 19, 2024 passed an amendment to New York Labor Law § 196-b that will require employers to provide up to 20 hours of paid leave in a 52-week period for pregnant employees to attend prenatal medical

The New York State enacted budget for fiscal year 2024 changes employers’ obligations by adding paid leave for prenatal care, converting unpaid break time for purposes of expressing breast milk into paid time, and incorporating a sunset date into the existing COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave law.

Delivery platform companies must pay delivery workers in New York City a minimum rate of at least $19.56 per hour, Mayor Eric Adams and the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) announced on April 1, 2024. The increase went into effect immediately.

On January 17, 2024, New York’s Appellate Division Second Department held that “manual workers” under the state labor law do not have a private right of action to pursue alleged violations of the labor law’s weekly pay requirement. The decision marks a deviation from a 2019 Appellate Division First Department

Governor Kathy Hochul’s newly unveiled fiscal year 2025 executive budget proposal includes an amendment to Section 198 of the New York Labor Law (NYLL) that could put an end to pay frequency claims.

New York Labor Law (NYLL) Section 191 sets out a “schedule” for the frequency of wage payments of various categories of workers, including manual workers, who must be paid on a weekly basis.  New York State’s Department of Labor has defined a “manual worker” to include employees who spend