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Quick Hits
- Effective January 1, 2026, New York State will raise the minimum wage to $17.00 for downstate employees and $16.00 for upstate employees
- Along with the minimum wage increases, there will be adjustments to the cash wage and tip credits for tipped service employees, as well as revised meal and uniform credit rates to reflect the new wage structure.
- The minimum salary thresholds for the executive and administrative employee minimum wage exemption are also set to increase for both downstate and upstate employees.
Minimum Wage Increase
New York has separate minimum wage rates for employees in downstate New York, which encompasses New York City, Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk Counties), and Westchester County, and for employees in upstate New York (the remainder of the state). The hourly minimum wage rates for both downstate and upstate and employees will increase by $0.50 per hour in 2026.
Effective January 1, 2026, the rate for downstate employees will increase to $17.00 per hour from $16.50 per hour, and for upstate employees, it will increase to $16.00 per hour from $15.50 per hour. Along with the minimum wage rate increases, there will be adjustments to the minimum cash wage for tipped service employees and the employer tip credits.
| New York City, Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk Counties), and Westchester County | ||
| Current Rate | Effective January 1, 2025 | |
| Minimum Wage | $16.50 | $17.00 |
| Overtime (plus one half) | $24.75 | $25.50 |
| Fast Food Workers | $16.50 | $17.00 |
| Cash Wage for Tipped Food Service Workers | $11.00 | $11.35 |
| Tip Credit for Food Service Workers | $5.50 | $5.65 |
| Cash Wage for Tipped Service Workers | $13.75 | $14.15 |
| Tip Credit for Tipped Service Workers | $2.75 | $2.85 |
| Remainder of New York State | ||
| Current Rate | Effective January 1, 2025 | |
| Minimum Wage | $15.50 | $16.00 |
| Overtime | $23.50 | $24.00 |
| Minimum Wage for Fast Food Workers | $15.50 | $16.00 |
| Cash Wage for Tipped Service Workers | $10.35 | $10.70 |
| Tip Credit | $5.15 | $5.30 |
| Cash Wage for Tipped Service Workers | $12.90 | $13.30 |
| Tip Credit for Tipped Service Workers | $2.60 | $2.70 |
After 2026, the minimum wage will adjust for inflation based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the Northeast Region. Since January 1, 2024, the minimum wage rate for non-tipped fast food workers at chain restaurants (those with more than thirty locations nationally) has been the same as that of other non-tipped workers.
Meal Credit Adjustments
New York law allows employers to take a credit for meals provided to employees as part of employees’ wages valued up to specific rates. However, according to the New York Hospitality Industry Wage Order issued by the New York Department of Labor (NYDOL), the meals must meet strict requirements to qualify for the wage credit.
Meals must be furnished to employees at times when they customarily eat. Further, meals must include at least one type of food from four categories: “(1) fruits or vegetables; (2) grains or potatoes; (3) eggs, meat, fish, poultry, dairy, or legumes; and (4) tea, coffee, milk or juice.”
| New York City, Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk Counties), and Westchester County | ||
| Current Rate (Per Week) | Effective January 1, 2025 (Per Week) | |
| Restaurants and Hotels | ||
| Food Service Workers | $3.95 | $4.05 |
| Service employees | $4.60 | $4.75 |
| All Others | $5.65 | $5.80 |
| Resort Hotels | ||
| Food Service Workers | $4.35 | $4.50 |
| Service Employees | $5.95 | $6.15 |
| All Others | $7.45 | $7.70 |
| Remainder of New York State | ||
| Current Rate (Per Week) | Effective January 1, 2025 (Per Week) | |
| Restaurants and Hotels | ||
| Food Service Workers | $3.95 | $4.10 |
| Service employees | $4.25 | $4.40 |
| All Others | $5.35 | $5.50 |
| Resort Hotels | ||
| Food Service Workers | $4.25 | $4.40 |
| Service Employees | $5.60 | $5.80 |
| All Others | $7.00 | $7.25 |
Uniform Credit Adjustments
New York law provides that where an employer “does not maintain required uniforms for any employee, the employer shall pay the employee” a rate in addition to the employee’s regular rate of pay to cover washing, ironing, dry cleaning, or repair of mandatory uniforms. The weekly rate increases with the number of hours worked. Employees who work more than thirty hours are paid the “High rate,” those who work more than twenty but up to thirty hours are paid the “Medium rate,” and those who work twenty hours or less are paid the “Low rate.”
Employers are not required to make uniform maintenance payments if the required uniforms are “(1) are made of ‘wash and wear’ materials; (2) may be routinely washed and dried with other personal garments; (3) do not require ironing, dry cleaning, daily washing, commercial laundering, or other special treatment; and (4) are furnished to the employee in sufficient number, or the employee is reimbursed by the employer for the purchase of a sufficient number of uniforms, consistent with the average number of days per week worked by the employee.” Employers are also not required to pay for uniform maintenance if the employee “chooses not to use the employer’s service.”
| New York City, Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk Counties), and Westchester County | ||
| Current Rate (Per Week) | Effective January 1, 2025 (Per Week) | |
| Uniform Allowances (20 or fewer hours per week) | $9.80 | $10.10 |
| Uniform Allowances (more than 20 to up to 30 hours per week) | $16.25 | $16.75 |
| Uniform Allowances (over 30 hours per week) | $20.50 | $21.10 |
| Remainder of New York State | ||
| Current Rate (Per Week) | Effective January 1, 2025 (Per Week) | |
| Uniform Allowances (20 or fewer hours per week) | $9.25 | $9.55 |
| Uniform Allowances (20 to 30 hours per week) | $15.30 | $15.80 |
| Uniform Allowances (over 30 hours per week) | $19.25 | $19.85 |
Executive and Administrative Salary Exemption
Employees who work in an “[e]xecutive” or “administrative” capacity and who are paid a “salary” not less than the thresholds set by state regulations may be exempt from the state’s overtime pay requirements. The thresholds are again set to increase for both downstate and upstate employees, under a three-year increase set by the New York Department of Labor.
Effective January 1, the thresholds will increase:
New York City, Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk Counties), and Westchester County
- $1,275.00 ($66,300 per year), up from the current $1,237.50 per week
Remainder of New York State
- $1,199.10 per week ($62,353.20 per year), up from $1,161.65 per week
New York law also makes employees who “[w]ork in a bona fide … professional capacity” (ellipsis in original) overtime exempt if they meet the specific requirements. However, those requirements do not include specific salary thresholds for individuals, such as those working in an executive or administrative capacity. While there is no minimum salary threshold under New York for the profession exemption, the salary minimums under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) apply. The federal minimum for exempt professional employees under FLSA is $684 per week or $35,568 per year. That minimum has remained flat since 2019 as a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) rule that had planned increases was struck down in court in November 2024.
Next Steps
Employers across New York State may want to take steps to prepare for these upcoming increases. Importantly, while the 2026 minimum wage increase marks the end of three years of set annual increases, the minimum wage rate will be indexed to inflation, with adjustments based on the CPI-W for the Northeast Region. The NYDOL reminded employers that minimum wage theft is considered a crime under New York State penal law and could result in prosecution.
Ogletree Deakins’ New York offices will continue to monitor developments and will provide updates on the Hospitality, New York, Retail, and Wage and Hour blogs as additional information becomes available.
Further information on minimum wage rates and requirements can be found in the Ogletree Deakins Client Portal, including minimum wage and minimum wage tip credit law summaries. (Full law summaries are available for Premium-level subscribers; Snapshots and Updates are available for all registered client-users.) For more information on the Client Portal or a Client Portal subscription, please reach out to clientportal@ogletree.com.
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