Most NY business owners have no idea that New York labor laws require employers to pay their workers on a regular - weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis. The exact pay frequency depends on the type of work performed by your employee.
The most common payroll frequency is weekly, then bi-weekly. Is it a free choice for your company to decide however? The answer is, maybe.
The New York Labor Law Section 191 outlines the pay frequency by which some employees must be paid. Specifically, some workers MUST be paid weekly.
This depends on the type of work performed by your employees. For example, manual labor workers must be paid weekly.
Who is considered a manual worker?
If you want to get technical, a manual worker is defined as “a mechanic, workingman or laborer” according to New York labor law.
More specifically, if this employee spends at least 25% of their working time engaged in “physical labor,” they will be considered a manual worker.
Physical labor,” according to the NY DOL, includes “countless physical tasks” and does not exclusively mean heavy lifting. Essentially, most employees working with their hands are considered manual workers. For example, according to New York labor law, hairdressers who work with their hands are considered manual workers under this law and therefore must be paid weekly.
Additionally, manual workers must be paid no later than 7 calendar days after the end of the pay period. So, if the pay period ended on February 1st, you must pay them on or before February 8th.
Besides manual workers, Employers in New York have more flexibility and can pay employees bi-weekly or monthly.
For example, Clerical and non-manual labor workers may be paid weekly or bi-weekly.
Commissioned salespeople may be paid weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly.
Executives, administrative or professional employees who are classified as exempt may be paid at any agreed-upon interval.
The bottom-line is, if you have employees who work with their hands, chances are they must be paid weekly according to New York labor law.
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