New York Overtime Laws: The 40 Hour Rule, State Salary Thresholds, and Spread of Hours Pay

New York overtime laws start where federal law does: non exempt employees earn one and a half times their regular rate for every hour over 40 in a workweek, and there is no daily overtime. Then New York adds its own rules on top. The state’s salary threshold for exempt managers and administrators is almost twice the federal one, live in employees get overtime after 44 hours, and a workday that stretches beyond 10 hours can trigger an extra hour of pay.

Those additions are where most New York overtime claims come from, and the state gives employees six years to bring them. This guide covers the rules for 2026, with worked examples at current minimum wages and links to the Department of Labor guidance and statutes behind every figure.

New York overtime laws: the short answer

The core rule sits in the state’s Minimum Wage Order for Miscellaneous Industries and Occupations (12 NYCRR Part 142), which covers most employers that are not in hospitality or building services. Section 142-2.2 requires overtime at “one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate,” following the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, and then adds New York’s own protections.

Is overtime after 8 hours or 40 hours in New York?

After 40 hours in a week. The Department of Labor’s overtime FAQ is direct about it: employees “are not entitled to overtime pay just because their employer asks them to work longer hours in a day than they generally work,” and overtime “is calculated based on the number of hours worked on a weekly basis.”

The weekly rule has three practical effects:

• Live in employees count to 44. Residential employees, such as a building superintendent who lives on site, earn overtime only after 44 hours in a workweek.
• Weeks cannot be averaged. A 50 hour week followed by a 30 hour week still owes 10 hours of overtime for the first week.
• Some jobs also need a day of rest. The Department of Labor’s wages and hours FAQ says employees in factories, mercantile establishments, most hotels and restaurants, and several building jobs “must receive 24 hours of rest in each calendar week.”

How to calculate overtime pay in New York

For most employees the formula is the federal one: regular rate x 1.5 x overtime hours. The regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses and shift differentials, as 29 CFR Part 778 explains, so it is often higher than the hourly wage. Our guide to overtime calculation covers more pay structures, and the overtime calculator does the arithmetic.

New York adds one twist. Employees who are exempt from federal overtime under section 13 of the FLSA, but not from New York’s rules, must still receive overtime at “one and one-half times the basic minimum hourly rate.” In 2026 that is at least $25.50 an hour downstate and $24.00 elsewhere, whatever their regular pay.

Example 1: hourly employee in New York City

A customer support agent in Brooklyn earns $25 an hour and works 46 hours in a week.

Example 2: minimum wage employee upstate

A warehouse worker in Rochester earns the $16.00 minimum and works 44 hours.

New York overtime laws for salaried employees

A salary does not remove the right to overtime in New York any more than it does federally. What matters is whether the job meets an exemption. The Department of Labor’s overtime FAQ lists the main exempt groups as executive, administrative, and professional employees, outside salespeople, government employees, and several narrower categories.

For executives and administrators, New York sets its own minimum salary in 12 NYCRR 142-2.14, and it is far above the federal $684 a week:

The Department of Labor’s minimum wage FAQ spells out the result: an employer covered by state overtime rules “must pay overtime at time and a half” to a manager or administrator paid above the federal minimum salary but below the state one. The threshold rises in proportion each time the state minimum wage does. Professionals, such as licensed engineers or lawyers, are judged on the federal professional test, which uses the federal salary level.

Example 3: the federal exemption that fails in New York

An office manager in Queens is paid $900 a week, which clears the federal $684 threshold, so the company treats the role as exempt. The manager regularly works 48 hours. Under New York’s $1,275 threshold the role is not exempt, and the salary covers 40 hours.

The figures are illustrative, but this is how these claims grow. If the manager averages 44 hours instead of 48, every figure halves. If three managers are classified the same way, it triples. Our guide to overtime for salaried employees covers how salaried overtime is calculated in other pay plans.

Spread of hours and call-in pay

Two New York rules pay for the shape of a workday as well as its length. Both are in the wage order for miscellaneous industries.

Spread of hours. Section 142-2.4 requires “one hour’s pay at the basic minimum hourly wage rate” for any day in which “the spread of hours exceeds 10 hours” or there is a split shift. Section 142-2.18 defines the spread as “the interval between the beginning and end of an employee’s workday,” including meal breaks and time off duty in between. Under the hospitality wage order, the Department of Labor’s hospitality FAQ says “all employees” who work such a day qualify. Under the miscellaneous industries order, the extra hour is paid “in addition to the minimum wage required,” so it matters most for employees paid at or near the minimum. If you are unsure whether it applies, paying it costs little.

On a five day schedule like that, the extra hour adds $85 a week, about $4,420 over a year, for one employee. Restaurants and retail stores with split shifts are where this adds up fastest.

Call-in pay, often called the 4 hour rule. Under section 142-2.3, an employee who reports for work at the employer’s request “shall be paid for at least four hours, or the number of hours in the regularly scheduled shift, whichever is less, at the basic minimum hourly wage.” Someone scheduled for a 6 hour shift and sent home after an hour is owed at least 4 hours at minimum wage.

Is mandatory overtime legal in New York?

For most adults, yes. New York does not cap the weekly hours an adult may work, and an employer can require overtime as long as non exempt employees are paid for it and day of rest rules are respected where they apply.

Nurses are the main exception. Under Labor Law § 167, “no health care employer shall require a nurse to work more than that nurse’s regularly scheduled work hours.” Nurses may still volunteer for overtime, and the ban lifts during health care disasters, declared emergencies, unforeseen staffing emergencies, or when a nurse is in the middle of a procedure. Minors also have separate hour limits under state and federal law.

Is overtime taxed in New York?

Yes. New York taxes overtime as ordinary wages, unlike states with no income tax. City residents also pay New York City income tax, and federal income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes apply on top.

At the federal level, the IRS explains that for tax years 2025 through 2028 workers can deduct qualified overtime compensation, meaning the “half” in time and a half that the FLSA requires. The deduction is capped at $12,500 a year, or $25,000 for joint filers, and phases out above $150,000 of modified adjusted gross income, or $300,000 for joint filers. Because it is taken after adjusted gross income, the figure a New York return starts from, it does not automatically reduce New York taxable income. Check current guidance from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance before filing.

One more New York detail: spread of hours pay, call-in pay, and overtime required only by the state rule for FLSA exempt employees are not FLSA required overtime, so they are not part of the federal deduction.

What happens if overtime is not paid

New York gives employees more time and more money than federal law does:

• A state lawsuit. Labor Law § 663 lets an employee recover the underpayment plus attorney’s fees, prejudgment interest, and “liquidated damages equal to one hundred percent” of the amount owed, unless the employer proves it acted in good faith. The action “must be commenced within six years.”
• A complaint to the state Department of Labor, which investigates wage claims without the employee needing a lawyer.
• A federal claim under the FLSA, which reaches back only two years, or three if the violation was willful. Most New York claims are brought under state law because of the longer window.

In practice, employers need six years of records. If you cannot show the hours someone worked in 2021, the employee’s reasonable estimate usually stands. Our guide to employee timekeeping covers what those records need to include.

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Six New York overtime mistakes

1. Using the federal salary threshold.

   A manager on $900 a week is exempt under federal law and non exempt in New York. The state threshold is the one that counts.

2. Forgetting that the threshold moves.

   New York’s exempt salary rises with the minimum wage. A salary that cleared the line last year may fall below it this January.

3. Ignoring split shifts.

   A lunch rush and a dinner rush on the same day can create a spread of more than 10 hours, and an extra hour of pay with it.

4. Sending people home without call-in pay.

   An employee who reports as scheduled is owed at least 4 hours, or the full shift if shorter, at minimum wage.

5. Leaving bonuses out of the regular rate.

   Production and attendance bonuses raise the regular rate, and the overtime rate with it.

6. Keeping records for only three years.

   Federal rules ask for two or three years of records, but New York claims reach back six. Without the records, the employer usually loses the argument over hours.

If you manage teams in more than one state, compare these rules with California overtime laws, which add daily overtime, and Texas overtime laws, which follow the federal rules alone.

Tracking overtime with actiTIME

Every New York rule above depends on a reliable record of when people worked and for how long. In actiTIME, employees log time against tasks in a weekly timesheet or as exact start and stop times in Calendar View, and managers approve each week before payroll.

• Overtime Registration calculates overtime automatically for each user, or lets employees enter it manually, depending on the setting you choose for them.
• The Time Balance and Overtime Report compares worked time with scheduled hours across the team.
• Calendar View records the start and end of each time card, which shows the spread of an employee’s day.
• Set an overtime rate in each user’s profile, and overtime costs appear in the Cost of Work Report by project and customer.
• Approved weeks can be locked, so hours that went to payroll cannot be changed afterward.

FAQ

What are the overtime laws in New York State for 2026?

Time and a half after 40 hours a week, or 44 for live in employees, with a minimum wage of $17.00 downstate and $16.00 elsewhere. Executives and administrators must earn at least $1,275.00 a week downstate or $1,199.10 elsewhere to be exempt, and employees can sue for unpaid overtime going back six years.

Does New York City have its own overtime law?

No. New York City follows the state rules. What differs is the numbers: the city shares the higher downstate minimum wage and exempt salary threshold with Long Island and Westchester.

Can an employer give comp time instead of overtime in New York?

Not in the private sector. Overtime must be paid as wages for the week it is earned. Public agencies can offer compensatory time under 29 U.S.C. § 207(o) within federal limits.

Keep six years of records you can defend

New York overtime laws are hardest on employers who know only the federal rules. Most of the fixes are paperwork: check exempt salaries every January, watch split shifts, and keep start times, end times, and weekly totals for at least six years.

To see how that works with your team, start a free trial of actiTIME. It runs for 30 days with every feature included, and afterward you can keep the permanent free version for teams of up to 3 users.