October 29, 2009
N.Y.S. Department of Labor Requires Use of NYSDOL Form
to Comply with Amended Labor Law §195
The amended New York Labor Law §195 went into effect on October 26, 2009. (See our October 13, 2009 Client Alert, available at here). Under the amended law, employers must obtain a signed acknowledgment from each new employee setting forth (a) the employee’s regular rate of pay, (b) the employee’s overtime rate of pay, if applicable, and (c) the employer’s regular pay days.
Until now, the New York State Department of Labor (the “Department” or “NYSDOL”) did not indicate any particular form of confirmation that was required from employees. Recently, however, the Department has taken the position that, in order to fully comply with §195, employers must obtain from each employee a signed standard NYSDOL acknowledgment form, which can be found on the NYSDOL website here.
The acknowledgment form currently available does not allow for consideration of more complex compensation arrangements. The Department has indicated that it is in the process of drafting additional forms and guidelines that will cover various circumstances, among them FLSA exempt employees and Commission Salespersons. We anticipate that the additional forms and guidelines will be on the Department’s website within the next two weeks. Until such forms are available, we recommend that employers with complex compensation arrangements use the currently available NYSDOL form, with the specifics of the compensation arrangement attached as an appendix. We further recommend that employers have newly hired employees sign the appendix, keep the signed appendix and give a copy to the employee.
If you should have any questions regarding the new acknowledgment requirements or any other related issues, please contact us. |
