By Jack Tuckner, Esq.
The federal minimum wage has been an appalling low $7.25 an hour since 2009, the same unlivable minimum wage still in effect for workers in 21 US states.
Fortunately, the current minimum wage for all employees in NYC is $15.00 per hour, and it’s $13.00 per hour if you work on Long Island or in Westchester, and the state minimum wage is $11.80 per hour if you work anywhere else in NY. See the NYS Department of Labor chart below.
If you work in NYC and you’re earning less than $58,500 per year or you’re not a professional, executive or supervisory administrative employee, then you’re enitled to be paid overtime pay. It doesn’t matter if you’re a salaried employee and considered “exempt” from overtime by your company, if you work in NYC and earn less than 58.5K and are not working in a professional “executive or managerial administrative capacity, then you’re non-exempt and entitled to overtime pay.
NOTE: If you work on Long Island or in Westchester County, your annual salary must be at least $50,700. to make you exempt from overtime, and if you work anywhere else in NY state your salary must be at least $46,020 per year before you’re considered exempt from the overtime pay law.
You must also be considered a professional, executive or managerial administrative employee in addition to meeting the above salary minimums.
The Minimum Wage rates are scheduled to increase each year on 12/31 until they reach $15.00 per hour. Employers must post a Minimum Wage Information poster in their establishment.
General Minimum Wage Rate Schedule
Location | 12/31/16 | 12/31/17 | 12/31/18 | 12/31/19 | 12/31/20 | 2021* |
NYC – Large Employers (of 11 or more) | $11.00 | $13.00 | $15.00 | |||
NYC – Small Employers (10 or less) | $10.50 | $12.00 | $13.50 | $15.00 | ||
Long Island & Westchester | $10.00 | $11.00 | $12.00 | $13.00 | $14.00 | $15.00 |
Remainder of New York State | $9.70 | $10.40 | $11.10 | $11.80 | $12.50 | * |
* Annual increases for the rest of the state will continue until the rate reaches $15 minimum wage (and $10 tipped wage). Starting 2021, the annual increases will be published by the Commissioner of Labor on or before October 1. They will be based on percentage increases determined by the Director of the Division of Budget, based on economic indices, including the Consumer Price Index.
Employers generally have to pay workers the highest minimum wage prescribed by federal, state, and local law. Since July 24, 2009, the federal government has mandated a nationwide minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. As of January 2020, there were 29 states and D.C with a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum.