The New York State Department of Labor is still sitting on proposed new wage orders that raise the weekly salary thresholds for exemption as an executive or administrative employee from the current $675 per week ($35,100 annually) to up to $825 per week ($42,900) for employers with eleven or more employees in New York City.  (The wage orders would also memorialize the minimum wage increases passed by the Legislature earlier this year.)  Unfortunately, the proposed wage orders have a December 31, 2016 effective date—a date that is now one or two pay periods away for most employers.

As we reported earlier, the proposed new rules also raise the allowances for meals, lodging, utilities, tips, and uniforms.  The public comment period on the proposed rules closed on December 3.

The employer community remains frustrated by the radio silence from Albany, but hopeful that it will have at least some notice—albeit right before the holidays—to implement a 22% salary hike for some employees.