New York Wage and Hour Lawyer

If you’ve been denied overtime pay, paid less than minimum wage, or faced retaliation after complaining about your paycheck, Allred, Maroko & Goldberg can help. Wage and hour violations are often hidden behind misclassification, off-the-clock work expectations, or confusing pay practices, and employees who speak up are sometimes met with discipline or termination. We represent workers across New York City and throughout the state, and we can help you work out what you may be owed.

What Is a Wage and Hour Claim Under New York State Law?

A wage and hour claim arises when an employer fails to pay employees the wages they are legally owed, including minimum wage, overtime, or timely payment of earned wages. To establish a claim, you generally must show you performed compensable work, that you were entitled to a specific wage or overtime rate, and that your employer failed to pay it.

Wage and hour claims also cover retaliation, which occurs when an employer disciplines, demotes, or fires an employee for complaining about unpaid wages, participating in a wage investigation, or asserting rights under wage and hour law. A retaliation claim stands separately from the wage violation behind it, and it can succeed while your underlying wage claim is still being resolved. Call Allred, Maroko & Goldberg today to speak with an experienced legal advocate.

If you’re unsure whether your rights were violated, we’re here to help.

Laws That Protect New York Workers on Wages and Hours

Several overlapping laws govern wage and hour rights for New York employees, and more than one may apply to the same situation.

The New York Labor Law requires timely payment of wages, sets minimum wage rates that are often higher than the federal minimum, and requires overtime pay at one and a half times an employee’s regular rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a week, with detailed recordkeeping obligations for employers.

The New York Minimum Wage Act establishes specific minimum wage rates that vary by region and industry across the state, generally exceeding federal minimum wage requirements.

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes minimum wage and overtime requirements nationwide, and allows employees to bring claims in federal court, often alongside New York Labor Law claims arising from the same pay practices.

New York Labor Law Section 215 separately protects employees from retaliation for making a wage complaint, participating in a wage investigation, or otherwise asserting rights under wage and hour law, allowing recovery of liquidated damages and attorney’s fees.

Because these laws overlap, employees may be able to pursue claims under both state and federal law simultaneously.

Who Is Covered and Who Is Exempt in Wage and Hour Disputes?

Most employees in New York are entitled to overtime, and the exemptions are narrower than employers often assume.

An employer cannot make you exempt by paying a salary, giving you a manager’s title, or calling you an independent contractor. Exempt status turns on what you actually do day to day, measured against the duties tests for executive, administrative, and professional roles, together with a salary threshold that New York sets above the federal figure and raises on a schedule.

Misclassification is the most common wage violation we see. If your title says manager but you spend your shift doing the same work as the people you supervise, the title will not hold up.

What Are the Common Signs of a Wage and Hour Violation in New York?

Wage and hour violations are not always obvious. You may be owed money if you are asked to work off the clock before or after a shift, if you are classified as an independent contractor while doing an employee’s job, or if you regularly work more than 40 hours a week without overtime pay.

Other patterns include employers averaging hours across multiple weeks to avoid paying overtime, unauthorized deductions from paychecks, and discipline or termination shortly after complaining about unpaid wages.

Evidence That Supports a Wage and Hour Claim

Wage claims are unusual among employment cases: the law puts the recordkeeping burden on your employer, not on you. Where an employer cannot produce accurate time and pay records, your own reasonable account of the hours you worked can carry the day.

That said, the more you have, the stronger the starting position:

• Every pay stub, along with the wage notice and wage statements New York requires
• Time records, schedules, and whatever system or app you clock into
• Your own log of actual start and finish times, including work before and after your shift
• Messages asking you to work through breaks, stay late, or handle tasks from home
• A detailed description of your daily duties if you are treated as exempt or as a contractor

Keep a contemporaneous record if you can. A note made on the day carries more weight than a reconstruction made a year later, and it does not have to be elaborate. A calendar entry or a note on your phone is enough.

Duty evidence matters as much as hours evidence where misclassification is involved. What you actually spend your day doing is what determines exempt status, and no job title overrides it.

How Employers Defend These Claims

Employers frequently argue that an employee was properly classified as exempt from overtime, or that time worked outside scheduled shifts was not authorized or was minimal enough to be non-compensable. They may also claim pay discrepancies were the result of a good-faith payroll error, promptly corrected once identified.

In retaliation claims, employers often argue that discipline or termination was based on documented performance issues unrelated to the wage complaint.

Who Can Be Held Personally Liable for Unpaid Wages in New York?

Liability under the New York Labor Law can extend to certain officers, owners, and managers with operational control over wages, in addition to the corporate employer itself, broadening potential accountability for wage violations.

Call Allred, Maroko & Goldberg today to speak with an experienced legal advocate.

What to Do If You Are Owed Wages

Wage claims are won on records. Employers are required to keep them, and when they cannot produce them, your own account of the hours you worked carries real weight.

• Keep every pay stub, and note any pay period where the hours look wrong.
• Track your actual start and finish times, including work before clocking in and after clocking out.
• Save schedules, timesheets, and any app or system you clock into.
• Keep messages asking you to work through breaks, stay late, or handle work from home.
• Note your job duties in detail if you are treated as exempt or as a contractor.
• Save your wage notice and wage statements, which New York law requires your employer to provide.
• Do not accept a partial payment described as settling the matter without advice.

Wage claims reach back six years under New York law, which is longer than most employees expect and long enough that a modest weekly shortfall becomes a substantial figure.

That also means delay is expensive in a way it is not for other claims, because the oldest weeks fall away first. Call Allred, Maroko & Goldberg today to speak with an experienced legal advocate.

How Long Do You Have to File a Wage and Hour Claim in New York?

Wage and hour claims are subject to different deadlines depending on the law and forum involved.

A wage claim under the New York Labor Law generally must be filed within 6 years of the violation, one of the longer statutes of limitations available to employees. A claim under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act generally must be filed within 2 years, or 3 years if the violation was willful. A retaliation claim under NY Labor Law Section 215 generally follows the same 6-year period as underlying wage claims.

Because unpaid wages often accrue over time, each missed or short payment can affect how far back an employee may recover. Filing complaints with the New York State Department of Labor is also an option alongside or instead of a court filing.

Barenboim v. Starbucks and What It Means for Tipped Workers

In Barenboim v. Starbucks Corp., New York’s Court of Appeals addressed how tip-pooling arrangements must be structured under the New York Labor Law, clarifying which employees may lawfully share in a mandatory tip pool. The decision remains an important reference point for wage claims involving tipped employees in New York.

Remedies in wage and hour cases can include unpaid wages, liquidated damages equal to the amount owed, attorney’s fees, and, in retaliation claims, additional compensatory damages.

What You Can Recover in a Wage and Hour Case in New York

New York wage law is among the most generous in the country for employees, and the recovery is often larger than people expect.

You can recover the unpaid wages themselves, plus liquidated damages equal to one hundred percent of that amount unless the employer proves it acted in good faith. Interest runs on the unpaid sums, and attorney’s fees and costs are recoverable, which means an employer that fights a small claim can end up paying several times the original shortfall.

Separate statutory damages are available where an employer failed to provide the wage notice or wage statements the law requires. Retaliation for raising a wage complaint carries its own remedies, including reinstatement and additional damages.

No lawyer can guarantee a particular result. The value of a case requires an individualized analysis and depends on the evidence, the severity of the conduct, the impact on you, and the defenses your employer raises.

Why Choose Allred, Maroko & Goldberg?

We were founded five decades ago by Gloria Allred, Michael Maroko, and Nathan Goldberg. Our attorneys have spent their careers representing employees and civil rights plaintiffs against employers with far greater resources than the people bringing the claim.

We have recovered more than $1 billion for clients across our practice areas, and we are recognized nationally for our advocacy on behalf of employees and victims. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Gloria Allred is admitted to practice in New York and is among the most widely recognised civil rights attorneys in the country. Our New York office is at 111 Broadway in Lower Manhattan, within reach of the state and federal courts where these cases are heard.

Wage cases reward precision. The recovery depends on hours reconstructed accurately, duties described exactly, and the six-year window used fully. Small differences in any of those compounds across years of pay periods, which is why the arithmetic deserves as much attention as the argument.

Allred, Maroko & Goldberg Is Ready to Help, Talk to Us

We help New York City employees and workers statewide calculate unpaid wages and overtime, evaluate retaliation claims, and identify the laws and deadlines that apply. We handle Department of Labor complaints, negotiate with employers, and pursue litigation when a fair resolution cannot be reached. Workers who raise a pay dispute are often punished for it, and our New York employment lawyers also handle the retaliation and wrongful termination claims that can follow a wage complaint.

If you’re owed unpaid wages or faced retaliation for speaking up, don’t wait to protect your rights. Call Allred, Maroko & Goldberg at 646-992-2184 to schedule a free, confidential consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions About New York Wage and Hour Claims

Can I be fired for complaining about unpaid wages?

No. Labor Law Section 215 protects you from retaliation for making a wage complaint, participating in an investigation, or otherwise asserting your rights, and the protection covers informal complaints to a manager as well as formal filings. A retaliation claim is separate from the underlying wage claim and carries its own remedies, including reinstatement, liquidated damages, and attorney’s fees. It can succeed even while the wage dispute itself is still being worked out.

How far back can I recover unpaid wages in New York?

Six years, which is one of the longest wage recovery periods in the country and considerably longer than the two or three years available under federal law. That length changes what these cases are worth. A shortfall of a few hours a week looks minor on a single payslip and becomes substantial across six years, particularly once liquidated damages and interest are added. It also means delay carries a real cost, because the oldest weeks fall outside the window first.

Am I entitled to overtime if I’m paid a salary?

Possibly. Being paid a salary does not by itself make you exempt from overtime. Exempt status depends on what you actually do day to day, measured against the duties tests for executive, administrative, and professional roles, together with a salary threshold that New York sets above the federal figure. Employers frequently assume that a salary and a manager’s title settle the question. If you spend most of your time doing the same work as the people you supervise, the exemption is unlikely to hold.

What if my employer says the pay error was a mistake?

An unintentional shortfall is still a shortfall, and the wages remain owed. Good faith may affect whether liquidated damages are awarded on top, but the employer carries the burden of establishing it, and a pattern of errors that consistently favours the company tends not to meet that standard. If the same mistake has recurred across pay periods, or affects several employees in the same way, it starts to look less like an error and more like a practice.