NYSDOL Issues Additional Guidance on the Wage Theft Prevention Act

June 13, 2011

The New York State Department of Labor (“NYSDOL”) recently published additional guidance on compliance with the Wage Theft Prevention Act (“WTPA”). This guidance supplements the NYSDOL’s previously-issued templates, instructions and FAQs on the WTPA. Specifically, the NYSDOL recently published a “sample” paystub, demonstrating how employers should comply with the WTPA’s amendments to New York Labor Law Section 195(3). As we reported previously the amended Section 195(3), requires employers to include the following information in all employee paystubs:

Dates of work covered by wage payment;
Name of employee;
Name of employer;
Employer’s address and phone;
Rate or rates of pay;
Basis of rate(s) of pay (hourly, shift, day, week, salary, piece, commission or other);
Gross wages;
Deductions;
Allowances, if any are claimed as part of the minimum wage (tips, meals, lodging); and
Net wages.

Additionally, the following information must be provided in paystubs for non-exempt employees:

Regular hourly rate or rates;
Overtime rate or rates;
Number of regular hours worked; and
Number of overtime hours worked.

Also, for employees paid by piece rates, their paystubs must include the applicable piece rates and the number of pieces completed at each rate.

The NYSDOL’s sample paystub provides only basic guidance on how the required information should be displayed for a non-exempt, hourly employee. It does not illustrate how this information should be displayed for other employee classifications, such as employees who earn multiple rates in a given pay period or employees who are paid, in whole or in part, by commission. The sample paystub can be accessed here. In addition to its sample paystub, the NYSDOL also recently issued a “Fact Sheet,” summarizing the WTPA and, among other things, its various notice and record-keeping requirements for employers. However, employers are not required to post this Fact Sheet, or to otherwise distribute the document to employees in any manner.

Overview