New York HR Laws for Small Employers (2026)

New York at a glance

Pay range in job posts: Required at 4 or more employees for jobs performed at least partly in New York or reporting to a New York location. Post the pay or pay range and the job description if one exists. New York City has its own posting law at the same size.
New-hire reporting: Within 20 calendar days of the hire date, to the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance. Independent contractors with contracts over $2,500 must be reported too.
Paid sick leave: 1 hour per 30 hours worked. Up to 40 hours a year at 1 to 99 employees (unpaid at 1 to 4 employees unless net income was over $1 million) and 56 paid hours at 100 or more. Plus 20 hours of paid prenatal leave.
Paid family and medical leave: New York Paid Family Leave: up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave at 67% of average weekly pay, capped at $1,228.53 a week in 2026. Employees fund it through a payroll deduction of 0.432% of wages.
Final pay when you end employment: By the regular payday for the pay period in which employment ended. Also give a written notice of the end date and the date benefits stop within 5 working days.
Final pay when they quit: Same rule: by the regular payday for the pay period in which employment ended. Mail it if the employee asks.
Unused vacation at exit: Earned vacation must be paid out unless your written policy told employees in advance that it is forfeited. Unused sick leave does not have to be paid out.

Hiring in New York

Pay ranges in job posts. Under Labor Law section 194-b, employers with 4 or more employees must include the pay, or a pay range, in every ad for a job, promotion or transfer that will be performed at least in part in New York, or that reports to a supervisor, office or worksite in New York. The range is the minimum and maximum annual salary or hourly pay you believe in good faith is accurate when you post. Include the job description if one exists. For commission-only roles, say that pay is based on commission. Jobs performed in New York City are also covered by the city's own salary transparency law, which applies at 4 or more employees. More detail: pay transparency in job posts.

Pay notice at hire. Labor Law section 195.1 (part of the Wage Theft Prevention Act) requires a written pay notice for every new hire, in English and in the employee's primary language when the Department of Labor publishes a template in it (Spanish, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Korean, Polish and Russian). The notice states the pay rate and how it is paid, the overtime rate for non-exempt employees, the regular payday, and your legal name, other business names, address and phone number. Get a signed and dated acknowledgment and keep it for 6 years. If any of that information changes, tell the employee in writing at least 7 calendar days before the change.

New York Department of Labor pay notice forms
Form	Use it for
LS 54	Hourly employees
LS 55	Employees with more than one hourly rate
LS 56	Weekly rate or salary for 40 hours or fewer a week
LS 57	Salary for varying hours, or day, piece or flat rates
LS 59	Exempt employees

Harassment prevention. Every New York employer must have a written sexual harassment prevention policy and give it to employees at hire and at each training, in English and in the employee's primary language when a state template exists. Training must happen every year and must be interactive.

New-hire reporting. Report each new or rehired employee working in New York within 20 calendar days of the hire date, online through the New York New Hire Online Reporting Center or on Form IT-2104. The report includes whether dependent health insurance is available and when the employee qualifies. Independent contractors with contracts over $2,500 are reported too. See new-hire reporting.

Background checks. New York's Correction Law Article 23-A lets you turn someone down over a past conviction only when the offense directly relates to the job or hiring them would create an unreasonable risk, after weighing the factors the law lists. In New York City, the Fair Chance Act (4 or more employees) bars criminal history questions until after a conditional offer. To withdraw an offer over a record, you must share what you relied on and a written analysis, then give the applicant at least 5 business days to respond. See background checks.

Leave in New York

New York Paid Sick Leave (Labor Law section 196-b) covers every private employer. Employees earn at least 1 hour for every 30 hours worked, part-time and exempt staff included. Unused leave carries over, but you can cap use at 40 hours a year (fewer than 100 employees) or 56 hours (100 or more). You do not have to pay out unused sick leave when someone leaves.

New York sick leave by employer size
Employees	Hours per calendar year	Paid or unpaid
1 to 4, net income of $1 million or less	Up to 40	Unpaid
1 to 4, net income over $1 million	Up to 40	Paid
5 to 99	Up to 40	Paid
100 or more	Up to 56	Paid

Paid prenatal leave. Since January 1, 2025, every private employer must give 20 hours of paid prenatal leave per 52-week period, on top of sick leave. There is no waiting period and no accrual: new hires have the full 20 hours. Pay it at the regular rate or the minimum wage, whichever is higher. You cannot require an employee to use sick leave first, and you cannot ask for medical records or details of the appointment.

Paid Family Leave. New York Paid Family Leave gives up to 12 weeks of job-protected, paid leave to bond with a new child, care for a family member with a serious health condition, or help with a family member's military deployment. In 2026 it pays 67% of the employee's average weekly wage, up to $1,228.53 a week (67% of the state average weekly wage of $1,833.63). Employees pay for it through a deduction of 0.432% of gross wages, up to $411.91 for the year. Full-time employees (20 or more hours a week) qualify after 26 consecutive weeks; part-time employees after 175 days worked. Employers with staff in New York may also need workers' compensation and disability benefits coverage, alongside Paid Family Leave coverage.

Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave starts at 50 employees and can run at the same time. New York City adds its own rules on top of the state law, including 32 hours of unpaid protected time off. More: paid sick leave laws and paid family leave by state.

Final pay and ending employment

Ending employment in New York
What	Deadline or rule	Source
Final pay, fired or laid off	By the regular payday for the pay period in which employment ended	Labor Law 191(3)
Final pay, quit	Same rule; mail it if the employee asks	Labor Law 191(3)
Written termination notice	Exact end date and date benefits stop, within 5 working days	Labor Law 195(6)
Record of Employment (IA 12.3)	Give to anyone laid off, discharged, who quits, or whose hours drop to 30 or less a week	NYS Department of Labor
Unused vacation	Pay it unless a written forfeiture policy was given to employees	NYS Department of Labor

The written termination notice is easy to miss. It must state the exact date employment ended and the exact date employee benefits are cancelled, and it must go out no later than 5 working days after the end date, whatever the reason for leaving.

Health coverage: federal COBRA applies at 20 or more employees. New York also requires employers with fewer than 20 employees to provide the equivalent of COBRA, and state continuation can last up to 36 months at no more than 102% of the cost. See when you need to offer COBRA and the step-by-step firing an employee in New York.

Other things to know

New York pay floors in 2026
Region	Minimum wage	Exempt salary (executive and administrative)
New York City, Long Island, Westchester	$17.00 an hour	$1,275.00 a week
Rest of the state	$16.00 an hour	$1,199.10 a week

These rates took effect January 1, 2026. The Department of Labor has announced that the minimum wage will stay the same on January 1, 2027. The state salary floor is well above the federal one, so check it before you classify someone as exempt. See exempt vs non-exempt.

Discrimination: the New York State Human Rights Law covers all employers in the state, whatever their size.
Layoffs: the New York WARN Act applies at 50 or more employees, not counting part-time staff. It requires 90 days' notice before a plant closing affecting 25 or more employees, a mass layoff (25 or more employees who are at least 33% of the site, or 250 or more), or a relocation of 50 miles or more. Large cuts in hours (more than 50% in each month of a 6-month period) can also count as job losses. See WARN Act layoffs.
Insurance: most employers with staff in New York need workers' compensation, disability benefits and Paid Family Leave coverage. See workers' compensation requirements.
Posters and policies: post the minimum wage poster, and post or hand out your policy on sick leave, vacation, personal leave, holidays and hours. See labor law posters.

Common questions

Does New York sick leave apply to a company with 3 employees?

Yes. Employers with 1 to 4 employees must give up to 40 hours of sick leave a year. It can be unpaid unless the business had net income over $1 million in the prior tax year, in which case it must be paid.

Do remote job posts need a pay range in New York?

If you have 4 or more employees, yes when the job will be performed at least in part in New York, or when the remote worker will report to a supervisor, office or worksite in New York.

When is a final paycheck due in New York?

By the regular payday for the pay period in which employment ended, whether the employee quit or was let go. Mail it if they ask. Separately, give a written notice of the end date and the date benefits stop within 5 working days.

Do I have to pay out unused vacation in New York?

Yes, unless you told employees in writing beforehand that unused vacation is forfeited when they leave. Without that written policy, earned vacation must be paid.

Is New York Paid Family Leave job-protected?

Yes. Paid Family Leave gives up to 12 weeks of job-protected, paid time off once an employee meets the work requirement (26 consecutive weeks full-time, or 175 days part-time).

How MambaHR handles this

MambaHR keeps your New York employee records and hiring pipeline, posts jobs with pay ranges, and sends the new-hire forms and follows up until they are done. Leave requests are approved within your policy, with federal FMLA eligibility checked and New York's paid leave programs cited for a person to decide how they combine. When someone leaves, it works out final pay under New York's rules for a person to approve, drafts the separation paperwork and prepares the COBRA continuation notices.

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Sources

Last reviewed October 2, 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice. Laws change and exceptions apply, so check the sources above or an employment lawyer before you act on a specific case.