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New York Labor Laws

August 18th, 2006 Posted by Sarah

The state of New York has a wide variety of labor laws on the books designed to protect employees, set out clear rules for employers to follow and to generally make sure all businesses are on a level playing field. I thought it might be helpful today to go over a few of those labor laws.

One important area of the New York labor laws are the rules governing wages and hours worked. The current minimum wage in New York is $6.75 per hour. On January 1^st 2007, this will increase to $7.15 per hour. Tipped workers making at least $2.40 per hour in gratuities may be paid as little as $4.35 per hour. Certain other service professions have other unique wage rules as well. New York’s labor laws also cover a number of other aspects of wage payment. The division of Labor Standards enforces all claims of unpaid or improperly paid wages.

New York is one of a number of states that guarantee workers a lunch or dinner break. Employees working more than six hours continuously are entitled to at least a 30 minute meal break. Factory employees, however, must receive a 60 minute meal break.

New York labor laws contain a number of rules related to the employment of minors. Youths under 18 years of age must obtain an employment certificate before they are allowed to work. A variety of different regulations about the hours and types of employment in which minors may engage are also included in the state law.

Under the state laws in New York, employment discrimination is prohibited on the basis of age, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, military status, sex or marital status. The New York Division Human Rights deals with employment discrimination claims based on one of these categories.

These are just a few highlights of the New York labor laws. Other labor laws cover issues such as occupational health and safety, the regulation of employment agencies, unemployment compensation, workers’ compensation, apprenticeship programs, and so on. For an up-to-date listing of the pertinent state and federal labor laws, see the New York Complete Labor Law Poster.