New York Overtime Laws 2026: What Workers Need to Know

New York Overtime Laws in 2026

New York follows federal FLSA overtime rules but has significantly higher minimum wages and stricter exemption thresholds that benefit workers.

The Basics

• Overtime kicks in after 40 hours per week
• Overtime rate is 1.5× your regular rate
• No daily overtime requirement (unlike California)

New York's 2026 Minimum Wage

New York has regional minimum wage differences:

| Region | 2026 Rate |

|--------|-----------|

| New York City | $17.00/hour |

| Long Island & Westchester | $17.00/hour |

| Rest of New York State | $15.50/hour |

Higher Salary Threshold for Exempt Employees

New York has higher salary thresholds for exempt status than federal law:

| Region | Weekly Salary |

|--------|---------------|

| NYC | $1,200/week ($62,400/year) |

| Long Island & Westchester | $1,125/week ($58,500/year) |

| Rest of State | $1,064/week ($55,328/year) |

This means more workers qualify for overtime in New York than under federal rules alone.

Hospitality Industry Special Rules

In New York's hospitality industry:

• The "spread of hours" rule requires extra pay when workday exceeds 10 hours
• Additional hour at minimum wage must be paid
• Applies to restaurants, hotels, and similar businesses

Filing an Overtime Claim in New York

• . Contact the New York Department of Labor
• . File a wage claim online or by mail
• . Claims can go back 6 years for unpaid wages
• . State may pursue civil or criminal penalties

Calculate Your New York Overtime

Use our New York Overtime Calculator for accurate calculations.

The salary threshold that trips up New York employers

New York sets its own exempt salary floors, and they are far above the federal level. Executive and administrative employees must be paid a fixed weekly salary at or above the state threshold for their region — higher in New York City, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester than upstate — before an exemption applies at all, and the duties test still has to be met. A worker paid below the regional threshold is non-exempt no matter what the job title says, so overtime is owed for every hour past 40.

Residential and non-residential workers

New York's Miscellaneous Industries Wage Order also creates protections federal law lacks. Non-residential ("non-live-in") domestic workers earn overtime after 40 hours, while live-in workers earn it after 44. The spread-of-hours rule adds one extra hour at the minimum wage when a workday spans more than 10 hours from first start to last finish, including unpaid breaks — a payment that has nothing to do with hitting 40 hours and is routinely missed in hospitality and retail.

Farm, hospitality and building-service carve-outs

Farm workers in New York now earn overtime on a weekly threshold that is being phased down from 60 hours toward 40 over several years, which means the correct trigger depends on the calendar year of the work. Building-service employees, hotels and restaurants each fall under their own wage order with distinct meal-credit, uniform-allowance and call-in pay rules. Before assuming a plain 40-hour calculation, check which wage order covers the industry.

How to file an unpaid overtime claim in New York

Claims go to the New York State Department of Labor, Division of Labor Standards, using form LS 223. The state statute of limitations for unpaid wages is six years — three times longer than the federal FLSA window — and recovery can include the unpaid overtime, 100% liquidated damages, prejudgment interest and attorney's fees. New York also requires employers to give a wage notice at hire and an itemized wage statement every payday under Labor Law §195; missing paperwork carries its own statutory damages and often strengthens an overtime claim.

Practical example with a New York City rate

At the $17.00 New York City minimum wage, the overtime rate is $25.50 an hour. A 48-hour week pays 40 × $17.00 = $680 in straight time plus 8 × $25.50 = $204 in overtime, for $884 gross. If that same worker's shifts spanned more than 10 hours on three days, add three spread-of-hours payments of $17.00 each, bringing the correct gross to $935 before deductions.