Getting Paid
Labor Law § 191 — manual workers weekly, others at least semi-monthly, and the last pay by the next regular payday
How often wages are paid depends on the kind of work:
| Worker | Paid at least |
|---|---|
| WorkerManual worker | Paid at leastWeekly, and within seven calendar days after the end of the week the wages were earned |
| WorkerClerical and other worker | Paid at leastSemi-monthly, on regular paydays set in advance |
| WorkerCommission salesperson | Paid at leastMonthly, by the last day of the month after the one in which they were earned |
A nonprofit, or a large employer the commissioner has authorized, may pay manual workers semi-monthly. No employee can be required, as a condition of the job, to accept pay on a different schedule.
The last paycheck. When employment ends, the employer pays the wages no later than the regular payday for the pay period in which it ended, and by mail if the employee asks.
Deductions. An employer may not deduct from wages except as a law or regulation provides, or as the employee voluntarily authorizes in writing, for the employee's benefit and after written notice of the terms, and then only for listed items such as insurance premiums, pension or health benefits, charity, union dues, transit passes and gym dues. This is the version of the section in force until November 6, 2028.
The wages, and as much again. An employee who wins a wage claim in court recovers the full underpayment, reasonable attorney's fees and prejudgment interest, and, unless the employer proves a good faith basis for believing it paid lawfully, liquidated damages of one hundred percent of the wages due, or up to three hundred percent for a willful violation of the equal pay section.
An employee not given the required written notice of pay rate and payday within ten business days of starting can recover fifty dollars for each work day the violation continues, up to $5,000, with costs and attorney's fees.
Sources for this section (3)
- Labor Law § 191 — Frequency of payments
- Labor Law § 193 — Deductions from wages
- Labor Law § 198 — Costs, remedies
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed New York attorney.