The minimum wage for employees on Long Island (Suffolk and Nassau counties), in New York City and in Westchester County is currently set at $15.00/hour. Employees outside these regions (i.e., generally, Upstate New York) are scheduled to receive an increase in the minimum wage to $14.20/hour, effective Saturday, December 31, 2022. This is an increase from the current $13.20/hour, which took effect on December 31, 2021. Employees at fast food chains are already required to be paid a minimum wage of $15.00/hour throughout New York State. There is also a separate minimum wage for home care aides, which went into effect on and after October 1, 2022, and which requires a $17.00/hour minimum wage in New York City, and Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties as well as a $15.20/hour in Upstate New York. After December 31, 2022, the minimum wage for home care aides in Upstate New York will increase to $16.20/hour.
This latest overall minimum wage increase to $14.20/hour was recommended by the New York State Division of the Budget (DOB), which considered various economic indices, including the Consumer Price Index. According to a September 2022 report issued by the DOB,1 “the Upstate minimum wage should rise by the sum of the annual growth rates for the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers and labor productivity, as defined by real output per hour of all persons in the nonfarm business sector, where annual growth is measured for the 12-month period ending in June 2022. This rule implies a combined growth rate of 7.5% and a minimum wage of $14.20 for the Upstate area for the 2023 calendar year, after rounding to the nearest 5 cents.”
The published 2023 New York State Minimum Wage Rate Schedule is as follows:
| Location |
Minimum Wage as of 12/31/2021*,*** |
Minimum Wage as of 12/31/2022*,*** |
Tipped Service Employees** |
Tipped Food Service Workers** |
| New York City |
$15.00 |
$15.00 |
$12.50 Cash Wage
$2.50 Tip Credit |
$10.00 Cash Wage
$5.00 Tip Credit |
| Long Island and Westchester |
$15.00 |
$15.00 |
$12.50 Cash Wage
$2.50 Tip Credit |
$10.00 Cash Wage
$5.00 Tip Credit |
| Remainder of New York State |
$13.20* |
$14.20* |
As of 12/31/2021
$11.00 Cash Wage
$2.20 Tip Credit
As of 12/31/2022
$11.85 Cash Wage
$2.35 Tip Credit |
As of 12/31/2021
$8.80 Cash Wage
$4.40 Tip Credit
As of 12/31/2022
$9.45 Cash Wage
$4.75 Tip Credit |
*Annual increases for the rest of the state will continue until the rate reaches $15.00 minimum wage (and $10.00 tipped wage). Starting 2021, the annual increases will be published by the commissioner of labor on or before October 1. They will be based on percentage increases determined by the director of the DOB and on economic indices, including the Consumer Price Index.
**Only hospitality employers are allowed to take credit from minimum wage.
***Effective October 1, 2022, the minimum wage for home care aides, as defined in Public Health Law Section 3614-c, increased by $2.00/hour above the basic minimum hourly rate.
Source: https://dol.ny.gov/minimum-wage-0
If you have any questions related to the minimum wages referenced, please contact a member of the Manatt team.
1 NYS DOB, 2023 Minimum Wage Report (Sept. 22, 2022). See NYS Division of the Budget Report, the Order of Commissioner of Labor and the Proposed Regulatory Text.