New York State Department of Labor (DOL)

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Employment law, whether shaped by legislation or litigation, is often driven by trends. For instance, in the mid-to-late 2010’s, lawmakers across the U.S. enacted numerous bills concerning paid time off for employees, such as for sick and family leave. A more recent trend involves regulatory and legislative efforts to limit or even outright ban non-compete agreements.

In New York State, the most significant employment litigation trend over the past several years has revolved around frequency-of-pay claims under Section 191 of the New York Labor Law (NYLL). This trend emerged from a radical 2019 appellate court decision that broke from more than a century of judicial precedent.

On May 9, 2025, however, Governor Kathy Hochul approved an amendment to the NYLL that should largely put an end to the flood of frequency-of-pay lawsuits.Continue Reading BREAKING: New York amends labor law to stimy flood of frequency-of-pay lawsuits

Recently, New York’s highest state court, the Court of Appeals, held that the New York Labor Law (NYLL) does not automatically entitle New York home health care providers to wages for each hour worked during a 24-hour shift.

The ruling is the result of an appeal of two state court class actions in which home health aides accused their employers of violating NYLL by failing to pay minimum wage for each hour of their 24-hour shifts. The dispute arose due to a phrase in the New York State Department of Labor’s (DOL) Minimum Wage Order Number 11 for Miscellaneous Industries and Occupations (the regulation), which states that workers must be paid minimum wage for the time they are “required to be available for work at a place prescribed by the employer.” Plaintiffs in both cases alleged that they were entitled to 24-hour pay because their patients could not be left alone and often needed assistance throughout the night, thereby requiring them to be available for work for their entire shift.Continue Reading New York’s highest court holds that home health aides are not entitled to 24-hour pay