Labor laws and the rights of individuals working in New York City are outlined in various laws at both state and city levels. New York State and New York City governments each have roles in defining rules that have an impact on employees. These rules include requirements related to how much a worker should earn and what benefits they are entitled to receive, including paid sick leave and overtime.

Minimum Wage

As part of the 2016-17 State Budget, Governor Cuomo signed legislation enacting a statewide $15 minimum wage plan that will lift the earnings of more than 2.1 million New Yorkers, in all industries across the state. The minimum wage may vary depending on the sector or industry. Regulations known as ‘Wage Orders’ establish industry-specific rates that differ from the general minimum wage rate.

* Annual increases for the rest of the state will continue until the rate reaches $15 minimum wage (and $10 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 Division of Budget, based on economic indices, including the Consumer Price Index.

*Tipped food service workers rate is unchanged at $7.50 until 12/31/2017.

Vacation and Sick Leave

Under the New York state law, employers are not required to pay workers for any time that is not actually worked or required. As a result, employees do not have a right to paid holidays, personal leave, sick days or vacation. It is up to each employer to establish a policy related to paid and unpaid vacation and sick leave, should they decide to do so. If there is a policy related to vacation and/or sick leave, the employer is free to attach any conditions.

In New York City, employers with five or more employees must provide paid sick leave to anyone working for more than 80 hours per calendar year. Employers with less than five employees must provide their workers with unpaid sick leave. Sick leave must also be given to domestic workers who have been employed for at least a year and worked for more than 80 hours in a calendar year. Some workers are not covered by this requirement, including employees subject to a collective bargaining agreement. More information about New York City’s sick leave requirements are available from NYC Consumer Affairs.

Work Hours and Over-time

There are no limits on the number of hours a person can work. Similarly, there are no limits on the number of hours someone can work in any given day except for children under the age of 18. There are also no limits on how early or how late an adult employee can work. Employees working in some occupations and industries must receive at least 24 hours rest in each week. This includes people working in factories, hotels (except resorts or seasonal hotels), restaurants (except small rural restaurants) and mercantile establishments. The requirement for 24 hour rest also applies to elevator operators, watchpersons, janitors and superintendents.

Overtime requirements in New York are based on hours your work in any given payroll week, although it is not mandatory simply because you are working outside of your eight hour work day or during the weekend. Live-in or residential employees are required to receive overtime if they work over 44 hours in a payroll week. Non-residential workers are required to receive overtime when they work over 40 hours in a payroll week. Covered workers must be paid at least one and one-half times their regular hour rate of pay when working outside of these weekly hours. Additional information about overtime pay is available from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Resources

More information about labor standards and employment laws in New York is available from the New York State Department, which also has helpful answers to frequently asked questions.

Manhattan has one of the most dynamic economies in the United States. This New York City borough ranks high in terms of employment numbers and innovation, and is home to more than 125,000 firms. If you are looking to set up a business in Manhattan, this quick guide will provide you with information on the key support services available.

Financing and Incentives for businesses in Manhattan

The Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation is a good starting point for local business owners in need of funding. This organization offers business investment loans, small business loans, and microloans ranging from $500 to $250,000.  Find out more information at www.umez.org/.

Sales & Use Tax Exemption applies to eligible Manhattan business owners who purchase equipment, furniture and/or fixtures for new office premises. The premises must be leased for at least 10 years and must be located at the World Trade Center Site, Battery Park City, or the World Financial Center.

A rent abatement program is available to tenants of office or commercial premises located in a specific area of Lower Manhattan (Zone 4 or the areas between Murray, Frankfort, South and West Streets and along Battery Place). This program applies to commercial premises built before 1975 and implies a rent reduction of $2.5/ square foot. For further information, contact the administering agency (the New York City Department of Finance). The CRP (Commercial Revitalization Program) is similar program also managed by the same agency. This scheme aims to boost commercial occupancy rates in designated parts of the Lower Manhattan area. Some of the incentives offered by this program include 3 and 5-year rent tax abatements on new, expanded, or renewed lease agreements.

Conferences are opportunities for technology entrepreneurs and start-ups to look for co-founders, investors and partners. They also provide a forum for established businesses to showcase their services and products, as well as share best practice. An international centre for business and innovation, New York City hosts several technology conferences each year.

Social Media Week

Social Media Week spurs a worldwide conversation about connecting the world through technology. Events are held in 18 cities including London, Mumbai, Chicago, Sydney, Mexico City, Los Angeles, Milan and Jakarta. The theme for 2016 is ‘The Invisible Hand’, and events will delve into the hidden forces of technology and look at ways to harness them for good. Now in its eight year, Social Media Week New York attracts thousands of marketing, media and technology professionals. Held at The TimesCenter and the SVA Theatre from February 22 to 26, the expected line-up of 230 speakers include New York Times Company CEO Mark Thompson, CollegeHumor co-founder Ricky Van Veen, and Refinery29 co-founder Philippe von Borries. Go to http://socialmediaweek.org/newyork for more information. (Twitter: @smwnyc)

Techweek NYC

The fourth annual Techweek NYC takes place from October 10 to 16. At previous events, key note speakers included Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and Buzzfeed founder Jonah Peretti. The event attracts businesses and innovators from every aspect of the technology sector, from Fortune 500 CEOs sharing their success stories to start-ups looking for investors. Techweek also includes events in Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, Detroit, Chicago, Kansas City and Toronto. Speaker sessions showcase breakthrough trends and success stories to educate delegates on what is relevant and innovative. The Entrepreneur Expo is an opportunity for companies to present their services and provide advice to tech entrepreneurs and start-ups, while the launch Competition reveals the best new businesses in the New York area. Several events are also hosted by sponsors and partners. For further information go to www.techweek.com/newyork. (Twitter: @TechweekNYC)

In a city like New York, a constant round of business planning and development is the rule, rather than the exception. New York City is comprised of five boroughs, each of which competes for market share of technology business initiatives to increase employment, as well as to create a solid business base.

The Boom in New York City Tech Initiatives

One of former Mayor Bloomberg’s major initiatives was to create greater competition with Silicon Valley by providing funding for hi tech industries in New York City. Mayor di Blasio has continued this trend to New York City’s advantage. New York City has continued to extend tax breaks to attract technology companies, with Buzzfeed being granted a four million dollar tax credit at the end of Decemeber, 2014,  for its new 194, 000 sq/ft headquarters. Another company to benefit from a tax break was Etsy, with a five million dollar tax break and 200, 000 sq/ft of office space in Brooklyn.

More than $1.7 billion has been acquired through venture capital investments, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, a rise of 138 percent. Evidently, tech initiatives and media disciplines are aiming to help New York City achieve goals competitive with the rest of the world.

After suffering the negative impact of the financial recession, the city of New York seems to be back on track with regards to economic and business growth. In particular, the borough of Manhattan is considered the economic engine of this US city. For decades, Manhattan has enjoyed a reputation for being one of the world’s top business locations thanks to positive factors like the relatively low cost of doing business and a highly skilled and educated workforce. All these factors impact the commercial real estate market. To learn more, read through our overview of the local commercial property market and through our insights into the office sub-sector.

An overview of the Manhattan commercial property market

Even during the worst of the recession, the real estate market in Manhattan experienced below-average decline rates. Low unemployment rates have helped keep the local commercial property market healthy, and in fact, 2014 was consider a banner year for the real estate market in Manhattan. A New York Times article affirmed that the recent market rebound has brought transaction levels very close to pre-2008 rates, mainly thanks to the strong performance of the retail and office sub-sectors.

Since 2012, nearly 60,000 new jobs have been created in and around Manhattan, with the vast majority of them being office based. This fact has been consistently boosting demand for suitable office space, generating opportunities for increased activity levels and for the creation of new office developments. In addition, in July 2014 real estate analysts predicted that within the following two years, more than 1.55 million square feet of brand new retail space would be delivered within the boundaries of Manhattan, mainly around Fulton Street and South Street Seaport.