By Bill Milani, Jeff Landes, Susan Gross Sholinsky and Anna Cohen

We previously advised that the New York State Department of Labor ("DOL") had taken the stance that in order to comply with Section 195(1) of the New York State Labor Law (i.e., to provide proper notice to employees of their wages, overtime rates (if applicable) and paydays), employers would be required to utilize the DOL's official forms, which could be accessed at the DOL's Web site.

The DOL has now decided that, while employers may still elect to utilize the DOL's forms, employers need not utilize the DOL's forms in order to comply with Section 195(1). Rather, employers may utilize their own forms. Specifically, the DOL's Web site now states:

No particular form is required. Employers may create their own forms, or use and/or adapt a sample form available [on the DOL's Web site].

If employers elect to utilize the DOL's sample forms, they should understand that the only forms currently available are for hourly non-exempt employees and staffing agencies. The DOL's Web site, however, notes that "[i]n the near future, sample forms for a variety of pay agreements (salaried, prevailing rate, exempt, and others) will be provided." We will advise you when such additional sample forms are published by the DOL.

Based on the DOL's statement, employers will be deemed to be in compliance with Section 195(1), so long as: (i) the employer's form includes employees' pay rate, overtime rate (if applicable) and paydays in the applicable document, (ii) the form is given to employees before they perform any work, (iii) the form is signed by the employee, (iv) the original form is maintained by the employer for a minimum of six years, and (v) a copy of the signed form is provided to the employee. While the DOL has informed us that its preference would be for employers to utilize a stand-alone form in order to comply with Section 195(1), it also has confirmed that if an employer includes all of the applicable information required by the statute in an offer letter, and that offer letter is signed by the employee, kept by the employer, and a copy is provided to the employee, the employer would be in compliance with the statute.
 

Back to Wage and Hour Defense Blog Blog

Search This Blog

Blog Editors

Related Services

Topics

Archives

Jump to Page

Subscribe

Sign up to receive an email notification when new Wage and Hour Defense Blog posts are published:

Privacy Preference Center

When you visit any website, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.

Performance Cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.