New York employers should be aware of several upcoming changes to wage and hour law and regulations, including the following.
Minimum Wage Increase
Earlier this year, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law a bill that increases New York State's minimum wage over the next three years, with the minimum wage eventually equaling $17 per hour in New York City, Westchester and Long Island. The first increase will be effective January 1, 2024, and continues the recent trend of establishing higher wage thresholds downstate.
For 2024, the minimum wage in New York City, Westchester and Long Island will be $16 per hour. In the rest of the state, the minimum wage will increase to $15 per hour.
Salary Level Increase for Exempt Status under the New York Labor Law
There is also an upcoming increase in the salary threshold to be exempt from overtime under the New York Labor Law. The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) recently published proposed regulations that would increase the salary threshold to be an exempt executive and administrative employee:
- in New York City and Long Island from $1,125 per week to $1,200 per week or $62,400 annually; and
- in the rest of New York State from $1,064.25 per week to $1,124.20 per week or $58,458.40 annually.
The NYSDOL has not issued the effective date for the salary threshold increase.
Proposed Salary Level Increase for Exempt Status under FLSA
Under New York wage and hour law and regulations, professional employees are not subject to the salary threshold. Professional employees, however, are subject to the federal exempt salary threshold, which is $684 per week or $35,568 per year.
Please remember that the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) recently issued a “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking," which would significantly increase the salary level required for so-called “white collar" employees — executive, administrative and professional employees—to be exempt from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime requirements. The new salary level will be set at the 35th percentile of weekly earnings of full-time salaried workers in the lowest-wage census region, which is the South.
Based on 2022 data, the minimum salary level would increase from $35,568 to at least $55,068 per year or $1,059 per week. The USDOL also proposes automatically increasing the salary level test every three years based on the percentile described above. Although the USDOL expects to issue a final rule in 2024, many anticipate a legal challenge. In 2016, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide injunction and then invalidated a similar USDOL rule, reasoning that the 2016 rule exceeded the USDOL's authority.