The New York Labor Law Guide

Minimum wage is the lowest hourly rate an employer must legally pay. New York sets rates by the geographic region where the work occurs.

Regional minimum wage rates (effective Jan 1, 2026)

• New York City: $17.00 per hour
• Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk Counties): $17.00 per hour
• Westchester County: $17.00 per hour
• Remainder of New York State (Upstate): $16.00 per hour

App-based delivery workers (New York City only)

NYC enforces higher minimum pay for independent contractors delivering via restaurant and grocery apps (UberEats, DoorDash, Instacart):

• Current rate: $21.44 per hour (before tips)
• Upcoming increase: $22.13 per hour effective April 1, 2026

Following recent NYC Council legislation, this minimum pay standard now legally applies to both restaurant couriers and grocery delivery workers.

New York limits sub-minimum "tip credit" wages strictly to hospitality (restaurants and hotels). Other industries must pay the full standard minimum wage regardless of tips.

Downstate (New York City, Long Island, and Westchester)

• Food service workers (waitstaff, bartenders, bussers): $11.35 per hour (maximum tip credit: $5.65/hour)
• Service employees (coat check, delivery, bellhops): $14.15 per hour (maximum tip credit: $2.85/hour)

Upstate (remainder of New York State)

• Food service workers: $10.70 per hour (maximum tip credit: $5.30/hour)
• Service employees: $13.30 per hour (maximum tip credit: $2.70/hour)

Critical compliance guardrails

The tip guarantee: if base cash wage plus actual tips do not equal the full standard minimum wage ($17.00 Downstate or $16.00 Upstate), employers must make up the difference.

The 80/20 rule: employers cannot take a tip credit on days when tipped workers spend more than 2 hours or 20% of their shift performing non-tipped side work. The full standard minimum wage applies on those days.

New York enforces strict overtime regulations that often supersede federal law. Employers must comply with whichever standard, state or federal, provides the greatest employee benefit.

The 40-hour rule

Standard non-exempt employees receive 1.5 times their regular pay for all hours over 40 in a 7-day workweek. Certain residential employees only receive overtime after 44 hours.

Who is covered? (the non-profit and school rules)

While state and local government employers are exempt, these entities are considered private employers and must pay overtime:

• Charter schools
• Private schools
• Not-for-profit corporations
• Non-teachers working for public school districts

New York enforces complex break laws, strictly categorizing meal times by industry, shift length, and time of day.

Unpaid meal breaks (NYSLL § 162)

Mandatory meal periods are unpaid if the employee is completely relieved of work duties.

• Non-factory workers, shifts over 6 hours: 30-minute meal period between 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM.
• Non-factory workers, shifts starting between 1:00 PM and 6:00 AM: 45-minute meal period midway through the shift.
• Factory workers, shifts over 6 hours: 60-minute meal period between 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM.
• Factory workers, shifts starting between 1:00 PM and 6:00 AM: 60-minute meal period midway through the shift.

The "evening shift" additional break (all workers): any employee whose shift starts before 11:00 AM and continues past 7:00 PM must receive an additional 20-minute meal period between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM. The NY Department of Labor may issue written waivers permitting shorter meal breaks, but the waiver must be posted at the workplace entrance.

Rest breaks and paid lactation leave

General rest breaks: New York does not mandate general rest or coffee breaks. However, if an employer offers short breaks (under 20 minutes), federal law requires they be paid.

Lactation breaks (mandatory pay): under recent updates to NYLL § 206-c, employers must provide 30 minutes of paid break time each time an employee has a reasonable need to express breast milk, for up to three years following childbirth.

Scheduling rules: "spread of hours" and "day of rest"

Spread of hours pay: if an employee's workday spans more than 10 hours from start to finish (including all working time plus unpaid meal breaks), the employer must pay one additional hour at the state minimum wage for that day.

One day of rest in seven: employers operating factories, hotels, restaurants, and certain commercial buildings must provide employees at least 24 consecutive hours of rest in every calendar week.

New York mandates specific paid sick and family leave programs, though standard vacation and holiday policies remain largely at the employer's discretion.

Vacation leave

No state mandate: New York does not require private employers to provide paid or unpaid vacation time.

The payout rule: if offering paid vacation, establish a written policy detailing how it is earned and forfeited. Under New York law, if the policy is silent on termination payouts, employers must pay employees for all accrued, unused vacation time in the final paycheck.

New York State Paid Sick Leave (NYPSL)

All private employers in New York must provide sick leave. The amount and payment status depend on employer size and net income:

• 100+ employees: up to 56 hours of paid sick leave per year.
• 5 to 99 employees: up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year.
• Under 5 employees (net income over $1M): up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year.
• Under 5 employees (net income under $1M): up to 40 hours of unpaid sick leave per year.

Accrual and frontloading: employees accrue 1 hour of leave for every 30 hours worked. Alternatively, employers can frontload the entire 40 or 56 hours at the start of the year.

Paid prenatal personal leave (active as of 2025)

The mandate: in addition to standard NYPSL, all employers must provide pregnant employees up to 20 hours of paid prenatal personal leave annually.

Usage: this leave can be used in hourly increments for pregnancy-related healthcare, fertility treatments, or end-of-pregnancy appointments.

New York Paid Family Leave (PFL)

The requirement: New York mandates a Paid Family Leave program allowing eligible employees up to 12 weeks of paid, job-protected leave to bond with a new child, care for a sick family member, or assist when a spouse is deployed abroad.

Payroll funding: unlike employer-paid sick leave, PFL is funded by a mandatory employee payroll deduction. Employers must configure payroll systems to withhold the current year's PFL contribution rate from employee paychecks. The separate NY COVID-19 Emergency Leave law officially expired in 2025 and is no longer active.

Holidays

Private employers in New York are not legally required to provide paid holidays, unpaid time off for holidays, or premium pay (time-and-a-half) for working on a recognized holiday.

All minors under 18 must obtain an Employment Certificate (Working Papers) before starting work, and employers must keep this certificate on file at the worksite. The NYSDOL is currently transitioning this to a fully mandatory electronic portal system by 2027.

General school hour restrictions

• Minors of any age cannot work during standard local public school hours unless they have officially graduated or withdrawn.
• Home-schooled minors still cannot work during the hours their local public school is in session.

Laws for minors 14-15 years old

When school is in session (max 3 hours on school days):

• Max 8 hours on non-school days (weekends and holidays).
• Max 18 hours per week and 6 days per week.
• Curfew: may only work between 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM.

When school is not in session (summer):

• Max 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week, and 6 days per week.
• Curfew: may work between 7:00 AM and 9:00 PM (from June 21st through Labor Day).

Laws for minors 16-17 years old

When school is in session:

• Max 4 hours on days preceding a school day (Mon-Thurs).
• Max 8 hours on Fridays, weekends, and holidays.
• Max 28 hours per week and 6 days per week.
• Curfew: may work between 6:00 AM and 10:00 PM on school nights.
• Exception: they may work until midnight on a school night only if the employer has both written parental consent and a certificate of satisfactory academic standing from the minor's school on file.

When school is not in session (summer):

• Max 8 hours per day, 48 hours per week, and 6 days per week.
• Curfew: may work between 6:00 AM and midnight.

For industry-specific exceptions, such as child performers or farm laborers, consult the NYSDOL official guidelines.

The City of New York enforces the Fair Workweek Law to ensure stable incomes and predictable schedules for hourly workers. Rules and penalties differ significantly between the retail and fast food sectors.

Fair Workweek: New York City retail

Retailers operating in NYC must adhere to strict advance notice rules. Unlike fast food, retail does not require premium pay for schedule changes; last-minute mandatory changes are simply prohibited.

• 72-hour advance notice: employers must provide workers with a written work schedule at least 72 hours (3 days) before the first shift on the schedule, and the schedule must cover at least 7 days.
• No on-call shifts: employers are strictly prohibited from scheduling retail employees for on-call shifts.
• No last-minute cancellations: employers cannot cancel a scheduled shift with less than 72 hours' notice.
• Consent for added hours: employers cannot add hours or new shifts with less than 72 hours' notice unless the employee explicitly consents in writing.

Fair Workweek: New York City fast food

Fast food establishments (defined as part of a chain with 30 or more locations nationally) face some of the strictest scheduling laws in the country.

• 14-day advance notice: employers must provide regular work schedules that stay consistent week-to-week, posted at least 14 days in advance.
• Schedule change premiums: if an employer changes the schedule with less than 14 days' notice, they must pay the employee a schedule change premium ranging from $10 to $75 per change, depending on the amount of notice given and whether hours were added or subtracted.
• The "clopening" ban ($100 penalty): employers cannot schedule an employee for a closing shift followed by an opening shift with less than 11 hours between them. Employees have the right to decline these shifts. If they consent to work one, the employer must pay a $100 premium.
• Access to hours: employers must offer available shifts to current, existing employees before hiring new staff to fill those hours.
• "Just cause" termination: NYC fast food workers are not at-will employees. Employers must have just cause (following documented progressive discipline) or a bona fide economic reason to fire an employee or reduce their hours by more than 15%.