Pay and Work Time
Pay and Work Time
Your Pay and Work Time in New York
Are Protected by Federal and State Law
We have state and federal laws that govern the minimum amount that workers are paid, who is paid overtime and how workers are paid. These are all in place to protect workers, ensuring that their employers treat them fairly.
Whether done unwittingly or intentionally, mistakes that employers may make include:
- Not paying the correct minimum wage
- Paying the “training wage” or “youth minimum wage” to the incorrect people or for too long
- Not paying overtime
- Incorrectly classifying employees in terms of overtime pay
- Making employees work “off the clock” and not giving them compensation
- Deducting too much for tips
- Paying employees under the table or in cash without any other benefits
- Deducting for wages paid in goods (for instance, if an employee is guaranteed a meal as part of his or her payment)
Any of these things can be actionable, and you should protect your rights. If you believe your employer has been paying you incorrectly, come tell our attorneys at Ricotta & Marks, P.C., your story. Our lawyers will listen attentively and use their knowledge of the law to determine whether or not your employer is in violation of state and federal wage and hour laws. We will aggressively pursue your case and work to resolve it successfully.
Call Ricotta & Marks, P.C., at 800-240-9269 or send us an e-mail to schedule your free initial consultation today. We help people in all types of industries with New York wage and hour claim issues, including those in the service industry.
Queens and Long Island
Labor Employment Lawyers in Queens and Long Island
Advocating on Behalf of
Employees
At Ricotta & Marks, P.C., we represent employees in a broad spectrum of legal matters, including:
Harassment
Employee Discrimination
Wage & Hour Disputes
Education Law
At Ricotta & Marks, P.C., employment law is our sole focus. We have represented teachers facing a broad spectrum of legal issues and we are committed to protecting teachers’ rights. To learn more, please do not hesitate to contact us and schedule a free initial and confidential consultation at our Queens or Long Island offices today.
Wrongful Termination
Sometimes these “Jekyll and Hyde” switches occur because a superior learned something about a subordinate that then caused him or her to have a negative bias, like the employee was of a certain religion or sexual orientation. Sometimes the reason is more obvious, like a bias against people of a certain race, being male or female, a woman becoming pregnant or people with disabilities.
Other Employment Law Issues
Federal and State Law Protections
Federal and State Law Protections
Federal and State Law Protections for Employees
Employees in New York have certain rights when it comes to wages and pay under both federal and state law. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the primary federal law that provides protection to workers in New York and across the country, while New York State Labor Law and the Wage Theft Prevention Act (WTPA) protect workers under state laws in New York.
Under the FLSA, workers and employees in New York have some of the following protections:
- Workers must be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour (as we will explain, New York State Labor Law requires workers to be paid a much higher minimum wage, and New York employers must abide by New York law);
- Nonexempt employees (such as those who are not salaried) must be paid overtime wages at 1.5 times the hourly rate for any hours worked beyond the 40-hour workweek;
- Employers are required to display a poster that outlines worker rights and protections under the FLSA;
- Employers must keep records of employee time and pay;
- Employers must provide nursing mothers with reasonable break time to express breast milk, and employers must provide a place that is shielded from view and free of co-worker intrusion—and is not a bathroom—for a nursing mother to express breast milk; Should this be somewhere else? It more goes to pregnancy discrimination than the type of labor law we are discussing here.
- Employees do not have a right to break time for lunch or a coffee break, but if an employer does give a break that lasts from 5 to 20 minutes, that break time is compensable (in other words, the employee must be paid for that time); and
- Employees have a right to use a bona fide meal period (30 minutes or more) for themselves and cannot be required to complete work duties during that period, otherwise, the employer can be required to pay the employee for that time.
Additional Worker Protections Under New York State Labor Law
New York State Labor Law provides more protections to employees than the FLSA does, and it is essential for employers in New York to recognize that they need to abide by New York’s laws when they provide greater worker protections. Examples of some of the protections in New York include but are not limited to:
- Minimum wage is set at $15.00 per hour in New York City, $13.00 per hour in Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties, and $11.80 per hour in the rest of the state;
- Workers are entitled to “one day rest in seven,” meaning that certain employers are required to give certain employees one day of rest (at least 24 consecutive hours) during every calendar week; and
- Certain employees are entitled to a noonday meal break of at least 30 minutes, and employees who have a shift that starts before 11 a.m. and continues beyond 7 p.m. are entitled to an additional meal period of at least 20 minutes between the hours of 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Protections Against Retaliation
New York law also gives employees protection against retaliation if they exercise their rights under New York State Labor Law. If an employer discharges, penalizes, discriminates, or retaliates in any other way against an employee who exercises his or her rights, the employer can be liable for retaliation. Employees have protection if they make a complaint, provide information to the Department of Labor, start a proceeding, testify, or engage in any other action related to rights under the Labor Law. If an employer retaliates, penalties can include:
- Penalty of anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000 for a first offense, and up to $20,000 for a second or subsequent offense;
- Required payment of lost compensation to the employee;
- Required payment of damages to the employee; and
- Other appropriate relief for the employee.
New York Wage and Hour Claims attorneys in Manhattan | Queens | Staten Island | Brooklyn | The Bronx| Long Island | Nassau | Suffolk.
The debate between who is salaried and who gets overtime seems to be a sticky one. If you make below a certain amount annually and your duties do not require any form of management, you are eligible for overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). If you are salaried, have management responsibilities or some other high-level duty for your company, you may not be eligible. Depending on the number of hours you put in a week, this may affect your bottom line significantly.
If you believe that your employer should be paying you overtime, we can help you pursue action against the company, including filing a claim with the FLSA. We work hard to protect your rights as an employee. Employment law is all we do, and we do it well.
Aggressively Handling State
and Federal Wage and Hour Disputes
Contact our New York wage and hour dispute lawyers at 347-464-8694 to discuss your situation. We take all wage and hour violation cases on a contingency fee basis, which means there is no fee unless we win your case.
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