New year brings new pay-transparency law, minimum wage

The first thing employers should do, if they haven’t done so already, is make sure their employee handbook is up-to-date and includes anything new required under law, says Michael Sciotti, a partner with Barclay Damon LLP in Syracuse. His law practice includes defending employers, business owners, and company managers in all types of discrimination, harassment, whistleblower, and retaliation claims brought under state and federal labor laws, according to his bio on the Barclay Damon website.

 One of the biggest changes is a new statewide pay-transparency law that Gov. Kathy Hochul recently signed. The new law, when it goes into effect, requires employers to list salary ranges for all advertised jobs and promotions. Its goal is to reduce discriminatory wage-setting and hiring practices.

“Employers will need time to get ready to implement the law practically, so they need to get right on it,” Sciotti says. The law goes into effect 270 days from the day Hochul signed it.

Aside from trying to close the pay gap, the law also allows applicants to make an informed decision whether they want to apply for a job or not, he adds.

Another pay issue topping the agenda in the new year is the annual minimum-wage increase. “On December 31 of pretty much every year, the Department of Labor increases the applicable minimum wage,” Sciotti says. For upstate New York — which includes all parts of the state outside New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County —the minimum hourly wage increased $1 per hour to $14.20. For home-care aides, the minimum wage went up by $1 to $16.20 per hour. In addition, the state increased the exempt salary amount for exempt executives and administrative employees to $1,064.25. Employers need to make sure the pay for salaried employees meet that threshold or they could owe the employees overtime pay.

Employers need to make sure they are paying the correct hourly wage, Sciotti says, and also post the new wage poster when it becomes available.

It’s a good time to check all posters, he adds, to make sure current and correct ones are the only ones posted. This year that includes a new poster that explains benefits available to veterans. Companies with 50 or more employees must post this veteran poster, Sciotti notes.

Other new provisions, amendments, and changes include an anti-retaliation provision that prohibits employers for firing employees that take too much time off and an expansion of the New York State Paid Family Leave that now includes caring for siblings.

Another amendment expands the requirements about the expression of breast milk in the workplace. With the change, employers must provide a designated room or location that is in close proximity to the work area, well lit, shielded from view, shielded from intrusion by others, and includes a chair, work surface, running-water access, and electrical outlet. The space can’t be a restroom or toilet stall.

“I think it buttons up and clarifies some gaps in the existing law,” Sciotti says. Employers can contest if there is undue hardship connected with compliance.

Finally, Sciotti reminds employers that COVID-19 leave policies have not changed or gone away. Employees are entitled by law through the end of 2023 to take four hours of leave time to receive or recover from getting their COVID-19 vaccine.

In addition, employers are still required to provide paid COVID leave, Sciotti says. “What employers need to realize is that’s a separate leave bank,” and not regular sick time or paid time off, he says.

Employees can use COVID leave up to three times per year before having to use alternate paid time off, Sciotti says. The first use of leave time can be based on a home test, but subsequent uses must be backed up with a positive test result from a health-care provider, he adds.

To keep up with changes, employers can sign up for free alerts from the state Department of Labor to notify them of new laws and requirements.