Minimum Wage
The minimum wage rate for New York City is set by state law and is enforced by the New York State Department of Labor. For 2024, the minimum wage is $16.00 dollars an hour. The state minimum wage is scheduled to increase by $0.50 per year starting on January 1, 2025. This means that in 2025, the minimum wage will be $16.50 per hour. This rate of pay applies to all workers regardless of immigration status, and it means that a worker cannot be paid less than this amount for every hour that they work. It does not make a difference whether the worker is working full-time (40 hours per week) or part-time (less than 40 hours per week). In both scenarios, they must earn at least the hourly minimum wage.
There are some occupations in which the minimum wage rate may be lower or higher depending on the industry. For more details, visit the New York State Department of Labor website to learn about minimum wage: Minimum Wage | Department of Labor (ny.gov). The New York State Department of Labor also provides an online tool to search the hourly rate for each industry: Minimum Wage Lookup (ny.gov).
For most non-salaried employees, overtime hours are paid at one and a half times the regular rate of pay when working over 40 hours a week.[1] For example, a worker earning $16 per hour must be paid $24 per overtime hour, which is $16 x 1.5.
Employers must also provide workers with:
- A pay notice when hired; and
- A detailed wage statement (pay stub) each payday.
Minimum Wage Hypothetical Scenario
Zuni is a beginner nail technician who just started working at a small salon in Jackson Heights. She works 25 hours per week. Zuni’s employer told her that she would only get paid when she had a client sitting in front of her. At the end of her first two weeks, Zuni had been at the salon 25 hours each week and has assisted other technicians, cleaned the shop, ran errands for her employer, and served a total of 20 clients. Zuni’s employer paid her a total of $320 dollars ($16 x 20 clients). Is Zuni being rightfully compensated?
No! Zuni is not being lawfully compensated.
Her employer has paid her only for the time she spent serving clients. Minimum wage law requires Zuni to be paid $16 per hour and not per client. Zuni should be compensated $16 for each of the 25 hours worked each week. Her total salary for the two weeks should be $800.00.
Prevailing Wage
The term “prevailing wage” refers to the wage and benefits rate that applies to workers performing certain publicly-funded work. This includes:
- Construction on public works projects, such as building schools, roads, and parks funded by the city government;
- Building service work, such as cleaners and doorpersons, on contracts with city agencies and sites that receive certain tax benefits;
- Certain services on city government contracts, including food services and temporary services;
- Security guard work in city-contracted homeless shelters
Prevailing wage and benefit rates are set and enforced by the New York City Comptroller’s Office. They are based on wages earned by union workers in the private sector and typically are significantly higher than the minimum wage. For example, if an employer has a contract with the city to build a school or provide maintenance to a building receiving certain state tax exemptions, those workers must be paid the prevailing wage rate. Depending on the kind of work performed, for some specialized trades, the prevailing wage may be as high as $100 per hour.
In addition to the prevailing wage rate, the law requires workers to receive an additional amount as a supplemental benefit. These can be in the form of actual benefits, such as pension or health insurance, or a cash allowance. The amount of the benefit that the employer is required to pay is listed in the Comptroller’s prevailing wage schedule, linked below. These rights apply to workers regardless of their immigration status: Wage Schedules : Office of the New York City Comptroller Brad Lander (nyc.gov).
If you believe that your employer is violating prevailing wage laws, you can file a complaint with the New York City Comptroller’s Office by filling out this online form File a Complaint : Office of the New York City Comptroller Brad Lander (nyc.gov). If you have questions, you can call our office at (212) 669-4443.
Prevailing Wage Hypothetical Scenario
Adelph works as a security guard for a contractor that provides security services to a residential building that receives a state tax exemption. Building service workers at this location, including security guards, must be paid the prevailing wage. Adelph is an immigrant worker who recently moved to New York. He does not yet know about the many labor protections available to him. Adelph’s employer paid him the minimum wage rate of $16.00 dollars per hour with no benefits. Is Adelph being paid the correct amount?
No! Adelph is not being lawfully compensated.
Because the building is subject to prevailing wage laws, Adelph must receive prevailing wage and supplemental benefits regardless of immigration status or whether he is employed by the owner of the building or a subcontractor. The prevailing wage schedule for 2024 establishes that entry-level unarmed security guards must earn, at minimum, $17.17 per hour plus supplemental benefits of $7.38 per hour. Thus, the total compensation for Adelph per hour must be at least $24.55, and not the minimum wage of $16.00 per hour without benefits.
Visit the New York City Comptroller’s Office’s website for more information on prevailing wage and workers’ rights: Overview : Office of the New York City Comptroller Brad Lander (nyc.gov).
Worker Classification
In New York City, you have a right to be correctly classified as an employee. According to the New York State Department of Labor, misclassification occurs when an employer labels employees as “independent contractors” even though the terms of their work indicate that they are in fact, employees.
If you think that your employer is engaging in worker misclassification, you can contact the New York State Department of Labor by calling 866-435-1499. You can also report this and other kinds of fraud by filling out this form: Report Unemployment Insurance Employer Fraud | New York State Department of Labor (ny.gov) or you can also send an email to the Joint Enforcement Task Force using this email address: dol.misclassified@labor.state.ny.us
You can contact the New York City Comptroller’s Office Bureau of Labor Law if you are working on a prevailing wage project and believe you are not being paid the correct wage due to misclassification. You can file a complaint with the New York City Comptroller’s Office by filling out this online form File a Complaint : Office of the New York City Comptroller Brad Lander (nyc.gov). For more information, you can call (212) 669-4443 or send an email to laborlaw@comptroller.nyc.gov.
[1] For overtime pay on Prevailing Wage Projects, please see page 14. Overtime pay on Prevailing Wage projects is usually calculated per day and not per week. Although almost all employees are entitled to overtime pay, some salaried workers may be exempt from overtime pay. See Wages and pay | New York State Attorney General (ny.gov).