As described in past Client Advisories, the New York legislature amended the Wage Theft Prevention Act (the “Wage Theft Law”) in 2014 to remove the requirement that employees receive certain information about their wages each year between January 1 and February 1. On December 29, Governor Cuomo signed these amendments into law. Although the amendments as written do not take effect for 60 days, which would ordinarily leave the annual notice requirement in effect until next year, the Governor’s signing statement indicates that he has reached a compromise with the legislature on Chapter Amendments that will remove the annual notice requirement for the 2015 calendar year.
Following the Governor’s statement, the New York State Department of Labor has announced that it “will not require” New York employers to issue the annual notices required by the Wage Theft Law in 2015. Employers still must provide their employees with written notice of their pay rate upon hire, before any decrease in the employee’s pay and, for employers in the hospitality industry, before an increase in pay. The other amendments to the Wage Theft Law will take effect on February 27, 2015, and are discussed in our July 15 Client Advisory.
If you have any questions regarding the Wage Theft Law and its pending amendments, please contact Nick Bauer at (212) 758-7793, or any other attorney at the firm, and refer to our previous Client Advisories regarding these amendments dated July 15, 2014 and December 17, 2014.
