By Jeannine Dubiac
There is a new law that will affect every business in New York State.
New York’s “Wage Theft Prevention Act” (WTPA) requires employers to comply with increased record keeping requirements. All private sector New York employers will be responsible for following the recordkeeping and notice practices to comply with the Act.
Employers are now required to provide written notice to each new hire and to all employees of their wage rates by February 1st of each year.
The notice must be provided both in English and in a language the employee identifies as their primary language at the time of hire.
What information is required on the notice?
• The employee’s rate or rates of pay
• Basis of pay (whether by the hour, shift, day, week, salary, piece, commission, or other);
• Allowances claimed as part of the minimum wage, including tip, meal, or lodging allowances;
• The regular pay day
• The employer’s name and any “doing business as” names;
• The physical address of the employer’s main office or principal place of business;
• The employer’s mailing address if different from the physical address;
• The employer’s telephone number; and
• All other information that the Commissioner of Labor “deems material and necessary.”
Each time such a notice is provided to an employee, the employer must obtain from the employee a signed and dated written acknowledgment of receipt of the notice. These notices must be kept for six years.
Employers need to be aware that penalties for failure to provide the required notices exist. Employers that do not provide the written notification can be required to pay employee damages of up to $50 per week, up to a total of $2,500, plus costs and attorney’s fees. The New York Department of Labor website has additional details, www.labor.ny.gov.
Jeannine Dubiac, FPC, is President of Priority One Payroll, based in Ballston Spa.