This bill (S 5540) sets a new minimum hourly wage rate for home care workers in upstate New York counties, excluding New York City boroughs and Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties. It requires the cash portion of their minimum wage to be the existing regional rate plus an additional $3.22 per hour, effective October 1, 2025. The policy directly affects home care aides working in these specified upstate counties. It extends existing wage parity protections by adding a fixed hourly supplement to regional wage rates.
This bill adjusts minimum wage credits for farm workers who receive meal, lodging, or utility benefits. It requires the department to update these credit amounts annually based on cost-of-living increases, using a standardized calculator. The first update must be published by December 1, 2025, with subsequent updates every five years. These changes directly affect farm workers receiving in-kind benefits, ensuring their credits keep pace with inflation. The policy modifies existing wage credit calculations without creating new benefits or altering eligibility.
Clarifies that the statutory damages available for certain wage violations are not punitive in nature and are designed to be liquidated damages rather than penalties or to compensate workers for the employer's failure to prevent wage theft and for the harm to employees that results from such failure.
Establishes the human services wage commission for the purpose of investigating whether the wages paid to human services workers are sufficient to provide adequate maintenance and to protect the health and welfare of employees; defines terms; provides for the duties of the commission; requires reporting.
This bill requires employers to pay minimum wage for any time over one hour during a split shift when an employee is not working (e.g., during a long break between work periods). It directly affects hourly workers with split shifts, such as those working morning and afternoon shifts with an extended unpaid break. The key provision mandates that this non-working time be counted as "worked" time for minimum wage purposes, ensuring pay for the full duration of the shift. The bill is pending in the Labor Committee and has not yet become law.
This bill clarifies when employers can apply a tip credit to workers who perform both tipped and non-tipped tasks on the same day. Specifically, if a service or food service worker spends more than 20% of their shift in a non-tipped role, they must be paid the full minimum wage for that portion of the day, not the reduced wage allowed with a tip credit. Regular side tasks directly related to their primary job (like busking in a restaurant) do not count as non-tipped work. The bill also specifies that employers improperly applying a tip credit must only compensate the affected worker in a tip pool, not all workers in the pool.
S 415 establishes minimum cash wage requirements for "miscellaneous industry workers" in New York, including car wash attendants, nail salon staff, dog groomers, tour guides, and valet attendants. It mandates that employers pay these workers a specific hourly cash wage before tips, with rates varying by location: $12.77 in NYC starting 2026, $11.50 in other areas, and phased increases through 2029. The bill also includes a "one fair wage reimbursement credit" to help employers offset costs. The law modifies existing wage orders to ensure total pay (cash wage + tips) meets the state minimum wage, applying only to workers covered under specific state regulations for non-food service industries.
This bill requires most employers to provide paid leave to employees based on business size: small employers (4+ employees) must offer 40 hours of paid sick leave and 40 hours of paid leave annually if they earned over $1 million last year; mid-sized employers (5-99 employees) must provide 40 hours each; and large employers (100+) must provide 56 hours of paid sick leave and 40 hours of paid leave annually. It also mandates 20 hours of paid prenatal leave per 52-week period starting in 2025, with employees accruing leave at a rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked. The law covers leave for illness, family care, medical appointments, and safety-related reasons (including domestic violence or stalking), with "family member" defined broadly to include spouses, children, and parents. All employers must pay at the employee’s regular rate or minimum wage, whichever is higher, for covered leave.
S 5533 creates a permanent $1.2 billion fund to improve pay for New York child care workers. It requires that at least 75% of funds distributed to child care programs must increase compensation for direct caregivers (like teachers), 10% for administrators, and the rest for program quality or capacity. The bill mandates the state develop a minimum wage scale aligning child care pay with public school educators and prioritizes funding for programs serving high-need children, underserved communities, and those accepting state child care subsidies. Programs receiving funds must meet wage requirements and report how money is used.
This bill, the "POWER Act," authorizes New York City's comptroller (referred to as the "fiscal officer") to enforce and investigate violations of state minimum wage laws within the city. It directly affects NYC workers and employers by giving the comptroller authority to probe wage theft and other labor standard violations covered under specific labor law sections. Key provisions allow the comptroller to inspect workplaces, issue subpoenas, review records, and impose penalties - similar to the Commissioner of Consumer and Worker Protection - while clarifying that this does not replace existing enforcement by other city agencies or state departments. The bill takes effect immediately upon enactment.
