In a prior post, I went over the California statutes that specify the amount of the California state minimum wage. When discussing the minimum wage, remember that it is important to be specific as to which one you’re referring to because the federal government has one as do many of the states. To make things more confusing, depending on the state you’re talking about, many cities also have their own higher minimum wages. In this post, I’m going to go over the statute — section 652 of the New York’s Labor Law — describing the state minimum wage in New York.
As it is in California, New York’s minimum wage statute is too long to simply past here verbatim so I’m going to have to paraphrase. Like in California, New York varies it’s minimum wage by both time and the number of employees a particular employer has. New York, however, also varies it’s state minimum wage by county and region.
For example, in New York City, Labor Law section 652(1)(a) says the minimum wage for employers with eleven or more employees is:
“$11.00 per hour on and after December 31, 2016,
$13.00 per hour on and after December 31, 2017,
$15.00 per hour on and after December 31, 2018, or, if greater, such other wage as may be established by federal law pursuant to 29 U.S.C. section 206 or its successors or such other wage as may be established in accordance with the provisions of this article.”
For New York City employers with fewer than eleven employees, the minimum wage is:
“$10.50 per hour on and after December 31, 2016,
$12.00 per hour on and after December 31, 2017,
$13.50 per hour on and after December 31, 2018,
$15.00 per hour on and after December 31, 2019, or, if greater, such other wage as may be established by federal law pursuant to 29 U.S.C. section 206 or its successors or such other wage as may be established in accordance with the provisions of this article.”
As with California, you’ll notice that smaller employers are held to the same minimum wage standard as larger employers, but just delayed a year. Currently (May 2020), all employers in New York City are bound to the same minimum wage of $15.00 per hour, regardless of the number of employees.
Employers in Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties, however, (i.e. Long Island and just north of New York City), Labor Law section 652(1)(b) says the minimum wage, regardless of the number of employees, is:
“$10.00 per hour on and after December 31, 2016,
$11.00 per hour on and after December 31, 2017,
$12.00 per hour on and after December 31, 2018,
$13.00 per hour on and after December 31, 2019,
$14.00 per hour on and after December 31, 2020,
$15.00 per hour on and after December 31, 2021,
or, if greater, such other wage as may be established by federal law pursuant to 29 U.S.C. section 206 or its successors or such other wage as may be established in accordance with the provisions of this article.”
For everywhere else in New York state, however, the minimum wage is specified by Labor Law section 652(1)(c) as follows:
“$9.70 on and after December 31, 2016,
$10.40 on and after December 31, 2017,
$11.10 on and after December 31, 2018,
$11.80 on and after December 31, 2019,
$12.50 on and after December 31, 2020″
There’s some language at the end of section 652(1)(c) relating to the math of computing increases to the minimum wage which I’m leaving off for clarity sake, but do look that over if you’re wondering how increases are computed. There’s also some language in section 652 that I’m not going over — least in this post — about New York’s minimum wage applies to non-profits as well as food service workers. Do take a look at the full language of section 652 if you’re either a non-profit or a food service worker.
As always, I hope you found this post helpful. It is not meant to be a comprehensive discussion about New York’s minimum wage laws. If you are going to rely on this post, please do your own research also because it is entirely possible that the authorities I cite to above might have changed in the time between when I wrote this post and when you’re reading it. If you do have a situation involving New York’s minimum wage, I encourage you to find a lawyer in your area with whom you can discuss your situation face-to-face. Lastly, I don’t currently have an office in New York state (check my website to see if I have one at the time you’re reading this) so, per Section 470 of New York’s Judiciary Law, I can’t represent clients in New York state. I do, however, get plenty of people contacting me from New York. If you’re in New York and need a lawyer, I’m happy to refer you to any New York attorneys I know.
Andy Chen
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