Pay Frequency Claims Pass Muster In New York

After avoiding the limelight for decades, New York State's manual worker pay frequency law has taken center stage.

Specifically, New York Labor Law (NYLL) § 191(1)(a) requires private employers to pay manual workers weekly, rather than semi-monthly. As we have previously reported, the law is broadly applied to cover not only manual laborers in the traditional sense of the term but to a wide range of physical work, including retail, food preparation, home care, and more.

Ever since a New York appellate court equipped manual workers with a private right of action, pay frequency claims have surged, with recent cases proving difficult for employers to dismiss at the outset. Unless and until a different appellate court reverses course, employers can expect these actions to keep rolling in.