In April 2020, Governor Cuomo signed new laws which amend the Wage Theft Prevention Act (WTPA). The amendments add new requirements to the WTPA notices and pay stubs for:
- Employees on public work contracts throughout the state who receive prevailing wage supplements;
- Home care aides in New York City and Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties; and
- All employees who are eligible for New York Paid Sick Leave which goes into effect on September 30.
Prevailing Wage
The new hire notice requirements under the WTPA have been amended to address employers covered by New York’s prevailing wage law. Employers covered by the prevailing wage law will be required to specify on an employee’s new hire form the prevailing wage supplements being claimed as part of any prevailing wage, if applicable. Employers who claim prevailing wage supplements must identify the following information on the employee’s new hire notice:
- The hourly rate claimed;
- The type of supplement, such as pension or health care;
- The names and addresses of the person or entity providing such supplement; and
- The agreement, if any, requiring or providing for such supplement, together with information on how copies of such agreements or summaries may be obtained.
The amendments requiring this additional information for covered employers take effect on June 23, 2020.
Additionally, prevailing wage employers will be required to include on an employee’s paystub, the prevailing wage supplements claimed as part of prevailing wage requirements and must specify the type of each supplement claimed and the hourly rate for each, or be accompanied by a copy of the applicable “new hire notice” as amended.
Home Care
Amendments to the WTPA will also require home healthcare employers to specify on a home care worker’s new hire form the benefits the employee is receiving under New York’s Wage Parity Law, including benefits provided. Home health care employers subject to New York’s Wage Parity Law will also be required to include on a home healthcare worker’s paystub the “benefits portion of the home care aide’s total compensation” such as additional wages and supplemental wages.
New York’s Wage Parity Law currently applies to employers located in NYC and Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester Counties.
Additionally, home care employers must maintain records of “the benefit portion of the minimum rate of home care aide total compensation,” as defined by the New York Wage Parity Law, for at least a six-year period.
These requirements are scheduled to go into effect on October 1, 2020.
All Other Employers
Lastly, the amendments will require all employers to track employees’ sick pay usage and maintain records of the amount of sick leave provided to each employee for at least a six-year period.
This requirement is scheduled to go into effect on September 30, 2020.
© 2020 HR Works, Inc.
