As we advised in the September 2009 issue of the New Jersey eAuthority, starting on October 26, 2009, New York employers must give all newly hired non-exempt employees written notice of their hourly rate, overtime pay rate, and regular payday, and all newly hired exempt employees written notice of their rate of pay and their regular payday. On October 29, the New York State Department of Labor (NYS DOL) issued a required Notice and Acknowledgement form that new employees must receive and sign confirming their receipt of this notice before performing any work for the employer. Employers must retain this acknowledgement for at least six years. In addition, the NYS DOL has made available a fact sheet for employers and employees about this new requirement.
It is important to note that employers must use this official NYS DOL form of acknowledgement for all new employees, and cannot rely on offer letters or other types of informal notice, despite contrary advice previously given by the state agency. While this form is designed for non-exempt employees, we understand that it must be used for other categories of employees (e.g., exempt employees and salespersons) until additional versions of the forms designated for those categories are posted on the agency’s website.
Note: This article was published in the November 2009 issue of the New Jersey eAuthority.