February 2015
While "docking" an employee's pay may seem like a good way to penalize that employee for poor performance or to recoup the cost of an employee damaging company property, many state laws, including those of New York, prohibit such punitive, unilateral deductions. Typically, employers also may not circumvent this prohibition by requiring employees to pay a separate charge for such impermissible reasons. Indeed, under various states' laws, including New York law, deductions from wages may only be taken when they are expressly authorized by the employee in writing, and are for the benefit of the at-issue employee. Lawful deductions may include, for example, authorized deductions for pension or health benefits and for labor union dues.
January 2015
On December 29, 2014, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill eliminating the annual wage notice requirement under New York's Wage Theft Prevention Act (WTPA). This change went into effect immediately, meaning that New York employers are no longer required to distribute annual WTPA notices to their employees between January 1 and February 1. However, New York employers should keep in mind that while annual WTPA notices are no longer required, New York employers must still provide – both in English and each employee's primary language – WTPA notices to (i) all new hires, and (ii) any employee who experiences a reduction in compensation.
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