This post is a guest article from Sandra Dawes with Egan Attorneys. Egan Law Firm is a New York employment law firm dedicated exclusively to providing knowledgeable and effective representation in all employment law matters.
Preventing Employee Claims for Wage and Hour Violations: Notices
As you have undoubtedly heard in the news, wage and hour claims by employees against their employers has increased dramatically in the past few years. Over the course of the next few blog posts, we will be discussing various ways that employers can protect themselves against such suits.
In this post, we will discuss the notices that the law requires every employer to provide to its employees. This is a common mistake by employers, and one that is also easy to fix.
New York law requires every employer to provide written notice of the following information to each employee at the time that they are hired:
- Pay rate and overtime rate
- How pay is determined (i.e. by the hour, shift, day, week, commission, etc.)
- Regular pay day
- Name and contact information for employer, including any other names employer may use (such as DBA)
- Whether employer will take any allowances (such as a deduction for tips)
The New York Department of Labor provides sample forms. Additionally, this notice must be provided in English and in the employee’s primary language.
Prior to December 29, 2014, employers had also been required to distribute the above information on an annual basis, by February 1 of every year. However, Governor Cuomo signed legislation eliminating this requirement. Therefore, employers are required to provide employees with these statements only at the time of hire.
Employees must also be given notices with each and every paycheck that contains information about how the wages were calculated. Failure to provide these notices could be fined up to $2,500.
Contact Egan Attorneys if you need assistance with notices that comply with New York’s wage and hour laws.
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