October 2016

New York Minimum Wage Increases Set To Take Effect

New York employers need to prepare for impending increases in the minimum wage that begin to go into effect on December 31, 2016. There will also be scheduled increases to the minimum wage for tipped employees receiving a cash base hourly wage absent any revised wage orders issued by the New York Department of Labor. These minimum wage increases vary by location of employer within New York in accordance with the following schedules:

New York City Employers With More than 10 Employees:

	Effective Dec. 31, 2016	Effective Dec. 31, 2017	Effective Dec. 31, 2018
Minimum Wage	$11.00	$13.00	$15.00
Cash Minimum Wage to Tipped Employees	$7.50 Tip Allowance Credit: $3.50	$8.70 Tip Allowance Credit: $4.30	$10.00 Tip Allowance Credit: $5.00

 
New York City Employers With 10 or Fewer Employees:

	Effective Dec. 31, 2016	Effective Dec. 31, 2017	Effective Dec. 31, 2018	Effective Dec. 31, 2019
Minimum Wage	$10.50	$12.00	$13.50	$15.00
Cash Minimum to Tipped Employees	$7.50 Tip Allowance Credit: $3.00	$8.00 Tip Allowance Credit: $4.00	$9.00 Tip Allowance Credit: $4.50	$10.00 Tip Allowance Credit: $5.00

Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester County Employers:

	Effective Dec. 31, 2016	Effective Dec. 31, 2017	Effective Dec. 31, 2018	Effective Dec. 31,  2019	Effective Dec. 31, 2020	Effective Dec. 31, 2021
Minimum Wage	$10.00	$11.00	$12.00	$13.00	$14.00	$15.00
Cash Minimum Wage to Tipped Employees	$7.50 Tip Allowance Credit: $2.50	$7.50 Tip Allowance Credit: $3.50	$8.00 Tip Allowance Credit: $4.00	$8.70 Tip Allowance Credit: $4.30	$9.35 Tip Allowance Credit: $4.65	$10.00 Tip Allowance Credit: $5.00

Remainder of New York State Employers:

	Effective Dec. 31, 2016	Effective Dec. 31, 2017	Effective Dec. 31, 2018	Effective Dec. 31, 2019	Effective Dec. 31, 2020
Minimum Wage	$9.70	$10.40	$11.10	$11.80	$12.50*
Cash Minimum Wage to Tipped Employees	$7.50 Tip Allowance Credit: $2.20	$7.50 Tip Allowance Credit: $2.90	$7.50 Tip Allowance Credit: $3.60	$7.85 Tip Allowance Credit: $3.95	$8.35 Tip Allowance Credit: $4.15

*After the minimum wage increase to $12.50 per hour by December 31, 2020, the minimum wage will continue to increase according to a schedule that is yet to be determined until the minimum wage reaches $15.00 per hour.

Notably, the legislation provides a mechanism to slow the scheduled minimum wage increases in the event of an economic slowdown, which includes an analysis of the economy and the effect of increased minimum wage on each of these regions commencing in 2019 to determine whether a temporary suspension of the scheduled increases is necessary.

New York is also serving up continued wage increases for fast food workers as discussed in a prior client alert that can be found here. These wage increases will continue to go into effect pursuant to the following schedule:

New York City Fast Food Employees:

	Effective Dec. 31, 2016	Effective Dec. 31,  2017	Effective Dec. 31, 2018
Minimum Wage	$12.00	$13.50	$15.00

Remainder of New York Fast Food Employees: 

	Effective Dec. 31, 2016	Effective Dec. 31, 2017	Effective Dec. 31, 2018	Effective Dec. 31, 2019	Effective Dec. 31, 2020	Effective Dec. 31, 2021
Minimum Wage	$10.75	$11.75	$12.75	$13.75	$14.50	$15.00

Employers need to be sure to implement these changes to avoid penalties and costs for non-compliance.

For more information on this topic, please contact your Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi PC attorney or the authors listed below.

Catherine P. Wells | Chair, Employment Law Group | cwells@csglaw.com | (973) 530-2051

Lindsay Smith Dischley | Associate | ldischley@csglaw.com | (973) 530-2110