Effective December 31, 2018, the salary basis thresholds for some executive and administrative exempt employees, the minimum wage rate, and the permitted tip credits and uniform maintenance pay, among other things, will increase. The six tables below set forth a summary of key increases.

Salary Basis Thresholds for Executive and Administrative Exempt Employees

Salary basis thresholds for executive and administrative exempt employees will increase as follows:

Table 1: 2019 Salary Basis Thresholds for Executive and Administrative Exempt Employees

New York City Large Employers (11 or More Employees) New York City Small Employers (10 or Fewer Employees) Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties Remainder of New York State
$1,125.00 per week $1,012.50 per week $900.00 per week $832.00 per week

Minimum Wage Rates

The minimum wage will increase for all employees (except janitors in residential buildings) as follows:

Table 2: 2019 Minimum Wage Rates

New York City Large Employers (11 or More Employees) New York City Small Employers (10 or Fewer Employees) Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties Remainder of New York State
Employees (Other Than Fast-Food Employees) $15.00 per hour $13.50 per hour $12.00 per hour $11.10 per hour
Fast-Food Employees $15.00 per hour $15.00 per hour $12.75 per hour $12.75 per hour

Tip Credits and Uniform Maintenance Pay

(Hospitality Industry)

Tip Credits for Hospitality Employers

Hospitality employers with service employees and food service workers (other than fast-food employees, for whom no tip credit is permitted) may take credits against employees' minimum hourly wages, which are noted in table 3 below. Covered employees must receive at least the applicable hourly "cash wage" (i.e., not including tips), and tip credits may not exceed the hourly "credit" rate, provided that (1) the weekly average of tips meets the hourly "tip-threshold" rate (if applicable), and (2) the actual total of tips received plus cash wages equals or exceeds the basic applicable minimum hourly wage. The tip threshold is an hourly amount of tips that a service employee must receive (calculated on the basis of a service employee's weekly average of tips) before an employer can claim a tip credit against an employee's minimum wage.

Table 3: Tip Credits for Service Employees (Other Than Those at Resort Hotels)

New York City Large Employers (11 or More Employees) New York City Small Employers (10 or Fewer Employees) Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties Remainder of New York State

Minimum Cash Wage

 $12.50 $11.25 $10.00 $9.25
Tip Credit $2.50 $2.25 $2.00 $1.85
Tip Threshold $3.25 $2.95 $2.60 $2.40

Table 4: Service Employees at Resort Hotels

New York City Large Employers (11 or More Employees) New York City Small Employers (10 or Fewer Employees) Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties Remainder of New York State
Minimum Cash Wage $12.50 $11.25 $10.00 $9.25
Tip Credit $2.50 $2.25 $2.00 $1.85
Tip Threshold $8.40 $7.60 $6.75 $6.25

Table 5: Food Service Workers (Other Than Fast-Food Employees)

New York City Large Employers (11 or More Employees) New York City Small Employers (10 or Fewer Employees) Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties Remainder of New York State
Minimum Cash Wage $10.00 $9.00 $8.00 $7.50
Tip Credit $5.00 $4.50 $4.00 $3.60

Note that unlike employers of service employees, employers employing food service workers (other than fast-food employees) are not required to meet an hourly tip-threshold rate.

Uniform Maintenance Pay

New York employers that do not maintain uniforms that they require their employees to wear must provide the following uniform maintenance pay to their employees. The amounts employers must pay are based on the number of hours employees have worked.

Table 6: 2019 Uniform Maintenance Pay

New York City Large Employers (11 or More Employees) New York City Small Employers (10 or Fewer Employees) Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties Remainder of New York State
High (More Than 30 Hours per Week) $18.65 $16.80 $14.95 $13.80
Medium (More Than 20 Hours, but Less Than 30 Hours per Week) $14.75 $13.30 $11.80 $10.90
Low (20 Hours per Week or Fewer) $8.90 $8.05 $7.15 $6.60

New York employers may want to review their payroll practices to ensure compliance with these wage increases

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.