Human Resource Blog

FLSA and New York Law

If an employee is classified as a computer employee or IT Professional and meets the exemption under federal law, does New York state law over ride that exemption? Or require a higher minimum weekly rate to meet that exemption?

Thanks for posting such an interesting question!!

When an employee is covered by both federal and state law, the employee is entitled to protection under whichever law confers the greater benefit to the employee. For example, the federal minimum wage is currently $6.55 per hour. The New York minimum wage is $7.15 per hour. New York employees are entitled to the higher state minimum wage.

Under federal law, Computer Employees are exempt from the minimum wage and overtime requirements, as long as they earn $455 per week or more, on a salaried basis. If paid on an hourly basis, the employee must earn $27.63 per hour. The federal law defines Computer Employees as computer programmers, systems analysts, software engineer and similar jobs.

Under state law, New York follows the federal guidelines, with one exception. The state law requires that the salaried employee earn at least 1.5 times the state minimum wage, or $7.15 x 1.5 = $10.73 (rounded) per hour of overtime. So if the computer employee in New York was working so many hours that he or she was not averaging $10.73 per hour of overtime, then the employee would not be exempt.

For example, a computer programmer making $455 per week and working 45 hours per week, would be earning more than the New York minimum wage for the first 40 hours, and more than $10.73 per hour for overtime. However, if that employee were to work 56 hours per week, they would not be earning an amount equal to the New York minimum wage for overtime, and therefore would lose exempt status.

Read more about the FLSA exemptions at: http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/regs/compliance/fairpay/fs17a_overview.pdf

Read more about the New York state law at: http://www.labor.state.ny.us/workerprotection/laborstandards/faq.shtm#2