As we welcome in a new year, we write to make employers aware of a number of changes to New York’s labor and employment laws that will affect both public and private sector employers in 2026.
NYS Minimum Wage Rate and Credit Increases
For those employers subject to the NYS minimum wage laws, effective January 1, 2026, the NYS minimum wage rate will increase to $17.00 per hour for New York City, Westchester and Long Island, and to $16.00 per hour for the remainder of the State. Starting January 1, 2027, the minimum wage will increase annually based on a three-year moving average of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the Northeast Region.
The minimum wage rate for Home Care Aides in New York City, Westchester and Long Island will increase to $19.65 per hour, and to $18.65 per hour for the remainder of the State.
For service workers in New York City, Westchester and Long Island, the cash wage rate will increase to $14.15, the tip credit rate will increase to $2.75, and the tip threshold rate will increase to $3.65. For service workers in workers in the remainder of the State, the cash wage rate will increase to $13.30, the tip credit rate will increase to $2.70, and the tip threshold rate will increase to $3.40.
For food service workers in New York City, Westchester and Long Island, the cash wage rate will increase to $11.35, and the tip credit rate will increase to $5.65. For the remainder of the State, the wage rate will increase to $10.70, and the tip credit will increase to $5.30.
For employees in New York City, Long Island and Westchester, meal credits will increase to: (1) $4.05 for food service employees; (2) $4.75 for service employees; and (3) $5.80 for other non-service employees. For the remainder of the State, credits will increase to: (1) $4.10 for food service employees; (2) $4.40 for service employees; and (3) $5.40 for other non-service employees.
NYS Overtime Salary Threshold Increases
Effective January 1, 2026, for those employees subject to State overtime wage laws, the salary threshold for employees classified as bona fide executive, administrative and professional employees, and who are exempt from overtime, will increase to $1,275.00/week (totaling $66,300 per year) in New York City, Westchester and Long Island, and $1,199.10/week (totaling $62,353.20 per year) for the remainder of the State. Note that, for an employee to be exempt from overtime rules, they will also need to continue to satisfy a job duties test.
Jury Duty Daily Rate Increases
Since June 8, 2025, all employers in NYS with 11 or more employees are required to pay employees who are absent from work for jury duty $72 per day (or their daily wages, if lower) for the first three days of jury duty.
New York State Paid Family Leave
Covered employees are entitled to up to 12 weeks per year of NYS Paid Family Leave (PFL). Eligible employees taking PFL receive 67% of their average weekly wage, up to a cap of 67% of the current New York Statewide Average Weekly Wage (NYSAWW). Effective January 1, 2026, the NYSAWW increased from $1,757.19 to $1,833.63 and the Maximum Weekly Benefit increased from $1,177.32 to $1,228.53.
NYS Reasonable Accommodation Anti-Retaliation Act
Effective December 5, 2025, the NYS Human Rights Law was amended to specify that it is an unlawful discriminatory practice to retaliate or discriminate against any person because they requested reasonable accommodation pursuant to the NYS Human Rights Law. Employers should review their policies to make sure that they align with this prohibition.
Trapped At Work Act
Employers may no longer require as a condition of employment, that worker or prospective worker be required to repay the employer (or their agent/assignee) for training costs or pay any sum of money if the worker/prospective worker leaves employment with the employer before a specified period of time. See our Legal Alert on this topic for more information.
Background Checks Limitations
Effective April 18, 2026, it will be an unlawful discriminatory practice for employers, labor organizations, employment agencies or their agents to request or use for employment purposes an applicant or employee’s consumer credit history. This includes using consumer credit history with respect to employment decisions such as hiring, compensation, or other terms and conditions of employment. “Consumer credit history” includes: (1) a consumer credit report; (2) a credit score; or (3) information obtained directly by an employer from the applicant/employee regarding details about credit accounts (including the number of credit accounts, late or missed payments, charged off debts, items in collections, and credit limit or previous credit report inquiries), bankruptcies, judgments or liens. Therefore, unless an employer falls within certain, limited exclusions, it should stop including consumer credit reports/history in their pre- or post-employment background checks when or before this law goes into effect. We will be issuing a separate Legal Alert with more details about this change in the law on the use of consumer credit reports and the exclusions from this new restriction.
Discriminatory Practices Standard Modified
Effective December 19, 2025, the NYS Human Rights Law was amended to codify that discriminatory practices can be proven by their effect on the affected categories/classes, even if there was no intentional discrimination. A “discriminatory effect” occurs where a practice “actually or predictably results in a disparate impact on a group of persons, because of their membership in a [protected class].” Notwithstanding this, the practice may still be lawful if it is supported by a sufficient, legally-justified reason; i.e., when it is job related and consistent with business necessity, and “the business necessity could not be served by another practice that has a less discriminatory effect.” As with other forms of discrimination, a burden-shifting framework has been established for proving a discriminatory effect. This clarification of State law was adopted after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission indicated that it will not pursue new disparate impact claims under the federal anti-discrimination statutes. As a result, “discriminatory effect” claims are currently limited to those filed in State court.
NEW LAWS APPLICABLE TO PUBLIC EMPLOYERS ONLY
Appointment and Promotion Letters Required
The Civil Service Law is amended, effective March 19, 2026, to require that an appointing authority extending an offer of appointment or promotion to a position in the classified service provide the individual with an appointment letter within 14 days of the appointment’s effective date. We will be issuing a separate Legal Alert outlining the requirements for the appointment/promotion letter.
New Mandatory Training for Police Officers and Child Protective Services Workers Regarding Sexual Assault
Effective March 13, 2026, NYS Executive Law is amended to require that all police officers receive training and instruction with respect to crimes involving sexual assault. The Municipal Police Training Council (MPTC) within the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services is required to promulgate rules and regulations for the training. The training is to be provided to all new officers as part of the basic curriculum at the State or municipal police academies and regulations are to be established by the MPTC for the training/retraining of police officers.
In addition, effective March 13, 2026, the Social Services Law is amended to require that the NYS Office of Children and Family Services promulgate regulations to establish standards for the development of a training curriculum for Child Protective Services (CPS) workers. The training must include teaching appropriate investigatory techniques for reports of sexual abuse and mandators on-going training for CPS workers.
Removal From Eligible List of Police Officer Candidates Who Do Not Meet Psychological Fitness Requirements or Lack Good Moral Character Standards
The NYS Civil Service Law has been amended to authorize an appointing authority to request that the local civil service commissioner remove a candidate from the eligible list where the appointing authority has been determined that the candidate does not meet the psychological fitness standards or lacks the good moral character standards set by the MPTC pursuant to NYS Executive Law. The amendment requires the local civil service commissioner to comply with the appointing authority’s request. The amendment took effect immediately upon signing by the Governor on December 5, 2025.
NEW LAWS APPLICABLE TO PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYERS ONLY
NYS Pay Frequency Law Penalties
Certain provisions of state law, together known as the NYS “Pay Frequency Law” require that a private sector “manual worker” be paid weekly and not later than seven calendar days after the end of the week in which the wages were earned. The NYS Department of Labor has interpreted the term “manual worker” to include any individual who spends more than 25% of working time engaged in physical labor. New York State law continues to require that clerical and other workers be paid at least twice a month.
Effective May 9, 2025, the NYS Pay Frequency Law was amended to cap the penalties that can be imposed on employers for first-time violations of the law, at a maximum of 100% of the lost interest incurred by the employee because of the delayed payment of wages, provided that the employer paid the manual worker at least twice a month. For subsequent violations, penalties include liquidated damages equal to 100% of the total amount of wages found to be due to the employee.
The NYS Retail Worker Safety Act
Since June 2, 2025, all retail employers employing 10 or more retail workers employees have been required to adopt a written workplace violence prevention policy and train employees on workplace violence prevention upon hire.
A “retail employer” includes any person, entity, business, corporation, partnership, limited liability company or association employing at least 10 retail employees. A “retail employee” is an employee that works at a retail store that sells consumer commodities at retail, and which is not primarily engaged in the sale of food for consumption on the premises.
The Workplace Violence Prevention Policy must include a list of situations that may place a retail employee at risk of workplace violence (including, but not limited to, working late or early, exchanging money with the public, working alone or in small groups); outline methods that the employer will use to prevent workplace violence (including, but not limited to, establishing reporting systems for workplace violence incidents); include information about applicable federal, state, and local laws concerning violence against retail employees, with available remedies; and prohibit retaliation for reporting workplace violence or assisting in an investigation.1
Beginning January 1, 2027, all retail employers with 500 or more employees in New York State must also provide employees with a silent response button to be used to request immediate assistance from a security officer, manager, or supervisor in case of emergency.
The NYS Warehouse Worker Protection Act Amendments
Since June 1, 2025, employers covered by the NYS Warehouse Worker Protection Act have been required to establish and implement an injury reduction program to identify and minimize the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders.
If you would like assistance with reviewing and updating existing documents, practices and procedures that may be impacted by the above changes to the law, please contact one of our attorneys.
This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice in any given situation. This communication is not intended to be, and should not be, relied upon by the recipient with respect to the issues discussed herein. The recipient is encouraged to consult counsel before making any decisions or taking any action concerning issues in this communication.
1 Employers may also use the Department of Labor’s Workplace Violence Prevention Model Policy
