There are several important laws to be aware of as a working woman in New York, including minimum wage, overtime, and benefits for off-the-job and on-the-job injuries.
There have been recent changes to the minimum wage in New York. Here’s the breakdown:
Note on tipped workers: The minimum wages stated above apply to nearly all employees in the state of New York. However, certain kinds of tipped workers are only entitled to a lower cash wage, including many food service workers like wait staff and bartenders and some kinds of hotel employees; these rates can also vary depending on where in the state you work. For more information on minimum wage rules for tipped workers, click here.
Note: All New York State wage and hour laws apply regardless of immigration status and regardless of whether a worker is paid “off the books.”
In general, if you are an hourly employee and you work more than 40 hours in one week, your employer must pay you at least 1.5 times your regular rate of pay for those additional hours worked. Both federal and state law provide overtime protections. Some employees, including many (though not all) salaried employees, are not covered by overtime protections. For more information on New York State overtime rules, click here; for more information on federal overtime protections, click here.
If you are a residential worker or “live-in worker,” you are entitled to overtime pay (1.5 times your regular rate of pay) for hours worked over 44 hours in one week.
If you are a farmworker who works more than 60 hours in a week, you are entitled to overtime pay (1.5 times your regular rate of pay) for hours worked over 60 hours in one week. Farmworkers are also entitled to at least one day of rest per week (24 consecutive hours), and must be paid overtime if choosing to work on a day of rest.
If you work a shift of over six hours starting before 11AM and continue working until 2PM, you are entitled to a lunch period of at least half an hour between 11 AM and 2 PM. Employers are not required to pay employees for this meal time. Workers may have other meal period rights according to their shift or the industry in which they work. For more information, click here.
Additionally, other than the meal period described above, New York employers are not generally obligated to provide breaks or rest periods to employees, but if they do permit a break of up to 20 minutes, this time must be paid.
Note: You may be entitled to overtime even if you are paid a salary.
Division of Labor Standards
Harriman State Office
Campus Building 12, Room 266B
Albany, NY 12240
If you make minimum wage and your employer schedules you for a shift, and you report to work, you may still be entitled to pay even if you are no longer needed for work that day. This is a growing area of law and New York may be expanding protections around fair scheduling.
New York provides additional protections to workers related to equal pay and salary history, in addition to prohibiting sexual harassment in the workplace. See here for more information on equal pay, salary history, and sexual harassment.
If you are injured on the job—no matter who is at fault—you may be eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits to cover a portion of your wages and medical needs.
New York law also gives most workers the right to temporary disability insurance (TDI), sometimes known as disability benefits (DB). TDI gives you the right to partial wage replacement while you are unable to work due to an off-the-job illness or injury, including pregnancy-related disabilities and recovery from childbirth. TDI benefits are capped at a maximum of $170 per week.
For more information about how TDI interacts with New York paid family leave, click here.
If you lose your job and are able to continue working, you may be eligible to receive unemployment insurance benefits
In New York, employers cannot discriminate against you based on age, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, military status, sex, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, familial status, marital status, or domestic violence victim status.
Yes. If you work in New York City, your employer cannot discriminate against you based on:
New laws passed in New York State give farm workers the right to unionize, collect overtime pay for working more than 60 hours in a week and eventually 40 hours, and have at least one day off per week.
Note: These rights do not extend to small family farms. This means that if you are the parent, spouse, child or other family member of your employer, you are not covered.
For more information New York State wage and hour laws, visit the New York State Department of Labor’s Fostering Access, Rights, and Education page and Wages and Hours Frequently Asked Questions.
For information about your workplace rights, call A Better Balance’s free and confidential legal helpline at 1-833-NEED-ABB (1-833-633-3222).
To download the full New York Working Woman’s Pocket Guide as a PDF, click here.