New York employers will welcome the New Year with one less record-keeping requirement. On December 29, 2014, Governor Cuomo signed into a law a bill eliminating a provision of the Wage Theft Prevention Act ("WTPA") which required employers to annually notify each employee before February 1 of the employee's pay rate (including overtime rate if applicable), pay date, how the employee would be paid (hour, shift, week, etc.), official name of the employer, address and phone number of the employer's main office or principal location, and allowances such as tips, meals, and lodging taken as a credit against minimum wage. The WTPA also required each employer to obtain a written acknowledgment from each employee by February 1 confirming the employee had in fact received the required notice in English and in the employee's primary language. The bill is expected to take effect immediately.
While the new bill eases the administrative burden placed on employers by eliminating the need for annual wage notices, it does not affect an employer's obligation to provide required wage and other notices to each new employee at the time of hire.
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