The minimum wage increased on December 31, 2020 on Long Island as well as Westchester County from $13.00 per hour to $14.00 per hour. All employees must be paid at least that amount of monies per hour for all hours worked, plus time-and-a-half for overtime.
Feather Law Firm, P.C. strongly urges all employers to pay their employees on an hourly basis, and not a daily, weekly or piece meal rate. Doing so will avoid many pitfalls that small-to-medium sized employers face when confronting allegations of underpayment of wages.
What to do now
Employers should make sure that all employees are paid the new minimum wage for each hour worked, and of course overtime for all hours worked over forty (40) in a workweek.
In addition, it is imperative that employees whose wages are being changed (whether increased or decreased, and for whatever reason whatsoever) receive a new New York State Wage Acknowledgment form. Failure to provide an employee with a Wage Acknowledgment form at the time of hire and anytime that employee’s wages are changed will result in a $250 per day civil monetary penalty, which is capped at $5,000 per employee.