by Stephen D. Hans | Apr 8, 2016 | minimum wage, Wage and Hour
Bill signed for Minimum Wage Hikes in New York As far as increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour, New York State and California are in lockstep. Both governors signed bills on April 4. 2016. New York’s bill is very detailed and the following are some the ways minimum wage increases are to be implemented. Large Businesses (11 employees or more) Minimum wages increase to $11 by the end of 2016 Minimum wages increase by $2.00 each year after Minimum wages reach $15 by 12/31/2018 Small Businesses (10 employees or fewer) Minimum wages increase to $10.50 by the end of 2016 Minimum wages increase by $1.50 each year after Minimum wages reach $15 by 12/31/2019 Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester Counties businesses Minimum wages increase to $10 by the end of 2016 Minimum wages increase by $1.50 each year after Minimum wages reach $15 by 12/31/2021 The rest of NY State businesses Minimum wages increase to $9.70 by the end of 2016 Minimum wages increase $.70 each year after Minimum wages reach $12.50 by 12/31/2020 The Director of the Division of Budget in collaboration with the DOL will decide on further increases to reach $15 an hour Analysis and Review The bill also has a built in safety net for increases. In 2019, the state DOB Director is to analyze the effect of minimum wages on each economy region. Based on findings, the Director has the power to suspend minimum wage increases, if necessary. Source: New York State website Of course, complying with minimum wage changes has...
by Stephen D. Hans | Jan 15, 2016 | Employment Law, Wage and Hour
A minimum wage increase of $8.75 to $9.00 went into effect in New York on December 31, 2015. For employers, it obviously means you must pay higher wages to all employees who were receiving minimum wages. However, that’s not the only factor you must consider. The New York Department of Labor released new posting required for the wage increase on December 31, 2015. GovDocs offers the posting as part of its New York Post Compliance Package In fact, businesses must display posters not just for minimum wages. Other employment laws also require postings. Here is the complete list: Minimum Wage Information Discrimination Laws Governing the Employment of Minors (Child Labor) Time Allowed To Vote Fringe Benefits Deduction from Wages Tip Appropriation No Smoking New York Correction Law Article 23-A New York Correction Law Article 23-A is NY Law that prohibits employers from discriminating against persons who were convicted of one or more criminal offenses. You may not be aware of it, but if you deny employment to someone who was previously convicted of a crime, you must provide the person with a written statement at the time you deny the employment or license. Let’s face it. In our society today, business owners must know about and comply with many laws and regulations just in order to run a business. It’s vital for you to address legal factors and work with an employment law attorney who can help you put measures in place. Failing to adhere to the law and stay in compliance with regulations can result in heavy fines. At Stephen Hans & Associates, our attorneys offer human resources...
by Stephen D. Hans | Nov 17, 2015 | Employment Defense Attorney, Employment Discrimination, Wage and Hour
Queens & New York City Employment Defense Attorneys Situations arise where an employee leaves and you must once hire or promote someone to fill their position. Based on skills, experience and the job description, employers offer a salary or wage for work being done as part of a position’s duties. As an employer, it is worth your time to review whether you provide equal pay to men and women who perform the same or comparable job functions. Recently, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) brought a lawsuit against an oil company for sex based discrimination and paying a female employee a lower salary than her male predecessor. The details of the case are that SOCI Petroleum/Santmyer Oil Company, Inc. (SOCI) hired Lori Bowerstock to work in human resources in 2006 in Wooster, Ohio. When the current human resources manager’s employment ended in 2009, Bowerstock assumed his function and began performing his functions. The EEOC’s complaint alleges that the company allowed derogatory, sex-based comments against women in general and devalued their work performances and capabilities. SOCI paid Bowerstock less compensation than her male predecessor for doing the same work. In this case, the EEOC alleges the company violated the Equal Pay Act of 1964 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act The EEOC first sought to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process. After failing to reach a settlement, the EEOC is now pursuing permanent injunctive relief to prevent SOCI from discriminating through unequal pay to women, to enforce equal employment opportunities for women, and to obtain lost wages, compensatory and punitive damages. Working closely with an...
by Stephen D. Hans | Mar 26, 2015 | Employment Defense Attorney, Wage and Hour
Recently, Wal-Mart announced its decision to raise the base wage of its employees. Wal-Mart plans to increase wages for close to 40 percent of its workforce. As of April, workers will earn at least nine dollars an hour, which is $1.75 more than the federal minimum wage. Workers’ wages will increase to $10 per hour by February 2016. According to a Washington Post article, Wal-Mart is the nation’s largest employer. Several days later, another retail giant. TJX, mother company of TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and Home Goods announced it also was increasing retail workers’ base pay to nine dollars an hour. Forbes reports that this wage increase is in keeping with IKEA’s wage increase to more than $10 per hour in 2015 and also with Gap Inc. which also increased their workers’ base pay in 2014 and at the beginning of 2015. We see a domino effect occurring in the retail industry that may carry over to other lines of work as well. What is obvious is that the retail business model is undergoing change. Part of the underlying reason may be that retail chain stores have to compete with online stores, such as Amazon. Another factor may be that bad publicity. Despite advertising efforts to create good branding and trustworthy images, a negative public image can drive customers to leave retail stores and shop online instead. Consumers wonder why large conglomerates are not paying their workers well and do not want to support them. Also, as the economy improves and employment pools shrink, stores must raise wages to stay competitive with each other if they want to hire the...
by Stephen D. Hans | Feb 4, 2015 | Wage and Hour
In the restaurant business and hospitality industry in general, employees who provide services, such as servers, hosting staff, bartenders and bus persons typically receive tips from customers. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA), which is a federal law, tipped employees are workers who “customarily and regularly receive more than $30 per month in tips.” A tip pool is a common fund used by an employer where all tipped service employees pool their tips together, and the employer then divides the tips fairly among the employees. Based on the NY Hospitality Industry Wage Order, employers can require directly tipped employees to participate in a tip pool. This law also establishes tip credits for employers using tip pools. It also allows tipped employees to take legal action against employers who violate tip pool regulations. As an employer, here are some violations to avoid: • Including employees in tips pools who do not belong based on their duties, such as cooks, dishwashers and other kitchen workers • Failing to pay tipped employees overtime when their schedules exceed 40 hours or their work day exceeds 10 hours • Including managers and employers in tip pools • Failing to keep daily records that show tips collected by employees for each shift, occupations eligible for tip pooling, shares each occupation receives and the amount each employee received in tips by date Participants have the right to view the tip polling records. Employers are at risk for collective or class action lawsuits when employees believe restaurant owners have violated tipping pool regulations. By working closely with a New York employment defense lawyer, you can ensure...
by Stephen D. Hans | Jan 15, 2015 | Employment Law, Wage and Hour
Minimum wage increases took effect on December 31, 2014, raising the New York minimum wage from $8.00 to $8.75 per hour for employees who work based on hourly wages. By the way, another minimum wage increase also occurs approximately a year from now, on December 31, 2015, raising hourly wages to $9.00 per hour. According to the New York Department of Labor , most employees working for restaurants or hotels in New York State are covered by the wage increase. However, the hourly wage increase does not apply to tipped employees, such as servers, persons busing tables or hotel bellhops. Even so, their overtime rates are affected and must increase when they work over 40 hours per week or work days with spreads over 10 hours for that day. The maximum tip credits employers can claim also increased by the same amount that minimum wages increased, which would be $.75 beginning 2015 and $.025 beginning 2016. Tip credits are $3.75 in 2015 and $4.00 in 2016. Non-overtime hourly wages along with credits for meals and lodging did not increase. Pay increases apply for tipped employee’s call-in pay and uniform maintenance pay. In addition, employers must pay the difference for any tipped employee’s hourly pay combined with tips that does not add up to the minimum wage figure. It is important to comply with changes in wage and hour laws. Business owners who fail to do so often find themselves embroiled in disputes and subject to lawsuits. Our employment defense attorneys at Stephen Hans & Associates offer employers decades of legal experience from protecting our clients’ rights in wage and...
