“New York State Wage Theft Prevention Act Notice Requirements”

December 31, 2012 | Appeals | Employment & Labor

The New York State Wage Theft Prevention Act (“WTPA”) remains in effect, which means that employers have until February 1, 2013 to provide the required written notice to employees.  Pursuant to the WTPA, New York employers must provide New York employees with a written notice and acknowledgment of pay rate and payday on an annual basis, on or before February 1st. In particular, the WTPA requires the following:

  • The written notice provided to employees must contain the following information: (1) the employee’s rate or rates of pay; (2) the overtime rate of pay, if the employee is subject to overtime regulations; (3) whether the employee will be paid by the hour, shift, day, week, salary, piece, commission or otherwise; (4) whether the employer will claim any allowances as part of the minimum wage (e.g., tip, meal or lodge allowances); (5) the employer’s regular payday; (6) the employer’s name and any names under which the employer does business; (7) the physical address of the employer’s main office or principal place of business and, if different, the employer’s mailing address; and (8) the employer’s telephone number.
  • The written notice must be provided to employees at the time of hire and, on or before February 1st of each subsequent year of the employee’s employment.
  • The written notice must be provided to the employee in English and in the language identified by each employee as his/her primary language.
  • The employee must sign written notice acknowledgement receipt of the same.
  • The written notices provided to the employees must be preserved and maintained by the employer for six years.
    Remember, employers who do not give the required annual notice may have to pay damages of up to $50 per employee for each week that the violation continues to occur, up to a maximum of $2,500 per employee.

To assist with your compliance of the WTPA’s requirements, the New York State Department of Labor has provided a sample form notice that can be found at the following link:  http://www.labor.ny.gov/formsdocs/wp/LS56.pdf  While employers are not obligated to use the sample notice provided, the notice must contain all of the information the WTPA requires.

 

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