NYS Labor Laws for Salaried Employees: Overtime, Deductions, and Leave

New York labor laws give salaried employees stronger protections than federal law in several important areas: higher salary thresholds before overtime can be waived, strict limits on paycheck deductions, guaranteed meal breaks, paid sick leave, and paid family leave. As of January 1, 2026, a salaried worker must earn at least $1,275.00 per week in New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties, or $1,199.10 per week in the rest of the state, before an employer can even attempt to classify them as exempt from overtime.1New York State Department of Labor. Minimum Wage Frequently Asked Questions Salary alone doesn’t decide the question, and being called “salaried” doesn’t waive most of the protections below.

When You’re Entitled to Overtime

Being paid a salary is not the same as being exempt from overtime. Under New York’s Minimum Wage Order (12 NYCRR ยง 142-2.14), an employer that wants to treat a salaried worker as exempt from time-and-a-half pay after 40 hours must clear two hurdles: a weekly salary floor and a duties test. Miss either one and overtime is owed.

The Salary Floor

The threshold has climbed on a fixed schedule and differs by region:

  • 2024: $1,200.00 per week downstate; $1,124.20 elsewhere in the state
  • 2025: $1,237.50 per week downstate; $1,161.65 elsewhere
  • 2026: $1,275.00 per week downstate; $1,199.10 elsewhere

“Downstate” means New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties.2New York State Department of Labor. Minimum Wage Order for Miscellaneous Industries and Occupations Earn a dollar less than the applicable amount and overtime is owed at one and a half times the regular rate for every hour past 40 in a workweek, no matter what the job title says.

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act sets its floor at $684 per week ($35,568 per year), and a 2024 federal increase was struck down in Texas, leaving that lower figure in place for 2026.3U.S. Department of Labor. Earnings Thresholds for the Executive, Administrative, and Professional Exemptions New York’s higher numbers control for anyone working in the state.

The Duties Test

Meeting the salary is only step one. The actual work has to fit one of the recognized white-collar exemption categories:

  • Executive: the employee’s primary duty is managing the business or a recognized department, they regularly direct the work of at least two full-time employees, and they have real authority (or significant influence) over hiring, firing, or promotion.4U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 17A: Exemption for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Computer and Outside Sales Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
  • Administrative: primarily office or non-manual work tied to business operations or management policies, with genuine discretion and independent judgment on significant matters. Routine clerical work does not qualify, even when it happens at a desk.
  • Professional: work requiring advanced knowledge in a specialized field, typically gained through extended formal education (licensed engineers, architects, certified accountants, and similar roles).

The word doing the heavy lifting is “primary.” If more than half of the working hours go to tasks outside the exemption’s description, the classification is likely wrong. Employers who label someone “manager” without giving them real management duties are the ones who end up paying back overtime.

When Your Salary Can and Can’t Be Reduced

Once you’re properly classified as exempt, the salary basis rule protects your paycheck from most reductions. Your pay is a fixed, predetermined amount each period and generally cannot swing based on the quantity or quality of your work. If you do any work at all in a workweek, the full weekly salary is owed.

The exceptions are narrow. An employer may deduct for full-day absences taken for personal reasons unrelated to sickness, full-day absences due to sickness when a paid leave plan covers them, and unpaid disciplinary suspensions of one or more full days for serious workplace conduct violations.5U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 17G: Salary Basis Requirement and the Part 541 Exemptions Under the Fair Labor Standards Act Docking a half-day, or docking for slow work, can destroy the exemption entirely and open the door to overtime claims for the whole misclassified stretch.

Paycheck Deductions Under Section 193

Separate from the salary basis rule, New York Labor Law Section 193 restricts what any employer can subtract from any employee’s check. Legal deductions fall into two categories: those required by law (taxes, Social Security) and those you authorize in writing for your own benefit, from a specific statutory list that includes health insurance premiums, pension contributions, charitable donations, union dues, transit benefits, gym memberships, tuition, and daycare.6New York State Senate. New York Labor Law 193 – Deductions from Wages Employers may also recover clerical overpayments and wage advances.

Everything else is prohibited. An employer cannot deduct for:

  • Cash register shortages
  • Breakages or damaged equipment
  • Inventory losses
  • Fines for disciplinary infractions
  • Any other business loss, even if you were clearly at fault

If an illegal deduction shows up on your stub, you can recover the full amount taken.7New York State Department of Labor. Illegal Deductions

Meal Breaks

Labor Law Section 162 gives salaried employees the same meal-break rights as anyone else. For non-factory workers (which covers most office-based salaried roles):

A meal break generally means a duty-free break. If you’re expected to answer phones or watch equipment during the period, it doesn’t count. These rights cannot be waived by company policy or by a side agreement with a manager.

Pay Frequency and Final Paychecks

Labor Law Section 191 requires most employees to be paid at least twice a month on regular paydays the employer designates in advance.10New York State Senate. New York Labor Law 191 – Frequency of Payments Section 191 does not apply to workers in bona fide executive, administrative, or professional roles whose weekly earnings exceed $900, so those employees can be paid monthly or on any schedule the employer picks.11New York State Department of Labor. Frequency of Pay Frequently Asked Questions The $900 earnings figure is what triggers the carve-out, not the overtime exemption label.

When your job ends, whether you resign or get fired, remaining wages are due by the next regular payday for the pay period in which the work was performed. If you ask, the employer must mail the final check.12New York State Department of Labor. Wages and Hours Frequently Asked Questions

The Wage Notice You Should Have Received at Hire

Labor Law Section 195 requires every employer to give each new employee a written wage notice at the time of hire. The notice has to state your rate of pay and its basis (salary, hourly, commission), the regular payday, the employer’s legal name and any “doing business as” names, and the employer’s address and phone number.13New York State Department of Labor. Notice of Pay Rate For non-exempt salaried employees, the overtime rate must appear on the notice too.

The notice must be provided in English and in the employee’s primary language when the Department of Labor has a translation available. You sign and date an acknowledgment, and the employer keeps it on file for six years.14New York State Senate. New York Labor Law 195 – Notice and Record-Keeping Requirements A missing or incomplete wage notice is a standalone violation you can pursue.

Paid Sick Leave

Labor Law Section 196-b requires every employer in the state to provide sick leave to salaried and hourly employees alike. The amount depends on employer size:

  • Fewer than 5 employees, net income $1 million or less: up to 40 hours of unpaid sick leave per calendar year
  • Fewer than 5 employees, net income over $1 million: up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year
  • 5 to 99 employees: up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year
  • 100 or more employees: up to 56 hours of paid sick leave per year

Accrual runs at one hour for every 30 hours worked, starting on your first day.15New York State Senate. New York Labor Law 196-B – Sick Leave Requirements Unused hours carry over to the next year, though the employer can cap how many hours you actually use to the annual maximums above. Some employers front-load the full annual allotment on January 1 to skip the accrual tracking; the total entitlement stays the same.

Paid Family Leave and FMLA

Salaried employees in New York have access to two separate job-protected leave programs, one state and one federal, and they can run at the same time.

New York Paid Family Leave

New York’s Paid Family Leave program provides up to 12 weeks of job-protected, partially paid leave per year. The benefit pays 67 percent of your average weekly wage, capped at 67 percent of the statewide average weekly wage.16New York State Paid Family Leave. Benefits You can use PFL to bond with a new child, care for a close family member with a serious health condition, or handle certain needs tied to a family member’s military deployment. The program is funded through small employee payroll deductions, not employer contributions. PFL does not cover your own serious health condition.

Federal Family and Medical Leave Act

The FMLA provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period if you meet all three eligibility requirements: at least 12 months of employment with the employer, at least 1,250 hours of service during the previous 12 months, and a worksite where the employer has 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2611 – Definitions FMLA covers a broader set of reasons than PFL, including your own serious health condition.

When you qualify for both, the employer can require the leave to run concurrently. You still get 12 weeks total rather than 24, but you receive PFL wage benefits during the absence while preserving FMLA job protections. For a salaried employee dealing with a personal medical issue, FMLA is the only source of job protection, so it’s worth tracking the 12-month and 1,250-hour thresholds early in your employment.