The State of New York’s overtime provision essentially tracks the federal provision. Employers must pay employees one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate for overtime. Overtime is time over 40 hours in one week for nonresidential employees, or 44 hours per week for residential (“live-in”) employees. For employees of resort hotels, if the employee works seven consecutive days, the hours worked on the seventh day are overtime. Anyone who is not covered under the minimum wage law is also not covered by the overtime provisions (see below).

You can read more about federal overtime law at our page on overtime laws.

The minimum wage in New York is $16.50 per hour, which is higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25.

New York State law does require meal breaks. Factory employees are entitled to a one-hour lunch break. All other employees (whether or not they are covered under the minimum wage or overtime provisions) are entitled to a meal break of 30 minutes if they work for more than six hours and their work hours extend over the midday meal period (defined as being between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm). Anyone who starts work before 11:00 am and finishes after 7:00 pm is entitled to an additional 20-minute meal break between 5:00 and 7:00 pm. Anyone who starts work after 1:00 pm and finishes before 6:00 am is entitled to a one-hour meal break midway through her/his shift if (s)he works in a factory, or a 45-minute meal break if (s)he works in another establishment.

However, these rules are not strict, and it is very easy for employers to get around them. The New York Commissioner of Labor can permit an employer to provide a shorter meal period of at least 30 minutes. The Commissioner tends to allow this as a matter of course, and employers do not even need to apply for a permit. In some special circumstances, the employer may provide a meal period of only 20 minutes with the Commissioner’s approval. An employer and employee may also negotiate to waive the meal period, as long as it is based on the employer’s business necessity and the employer provides a substitute.

Do not delay in contacting the New York State Department of Labor to file a claim. There are strict time limits in which charges of wage and hour violations must be filed. It is not clear if there is a time deadline for filing a wage claim form with the Department of Labor, although the Department only has six years within which to bring a legal action on your behalf. However, as you might have other legal claims with shorter deadlines, do not wait to file your claim until your time limit is close to expiring. It may be helpful to consult with an attorney prior to filing your claim, but it is not necessary to have an attorney to file your claim with the Department.

Visit the New York Department of Labor website for more information on how to file a claim.

Instead of filing a claim with the New York State Department of Labor, you can file a claim in state court for unpaid wages as well. If you win your case, the court can award you the wages you are owed, an additional 25% (if the violation was willful), attorneys’ fees, and litigation costs up to $50. The statute of limitations for bringing such a case is six years.