Proposed Regulations Clarify New York Employers’ Wage Deduction Rights

Last year, Governor Cuomo signed into law new legislation, effective November 2012, which amended New York Labor Law section 193 to permit employers to make deductions for wage overpayments due to mathematical or clerical errors and for repayments of salary or wage advances.1 However, under the new law, such deductions can be made only as provided in regulations that have yet to be promulgated by the New York Department of Labor (NYDOL). The lack of regulations has stifled employers’ ability to take advantage of the new law.