Q: Is it legal for a company to avoid NYC minimum overtime exempt salary requirements by having an out of state address?
The company has an address in CT and rents office space in Manhattan where their NYC employees report to. Salaried employees get paid $25-$40K per year and do not get paid overtime. Employer rationale is that they are not a NYC employer because they're based in CT.
A:
Sounds ridiculous.
Every employer who does business in New York State must comply with New York State's Labor Laws. Any employer who does business in New York City must comply with both New York State's and New York City's Labor Laws.
No full time employee earns less than $30,000 annually in New York City based on a 2,000 hour work year since $15 X 2,000 hours equals $30,000. It is illegal to pay less than the minimum wage where the work is performed. And it does not matter whether an employee is legal, illegal, or regardless of where they came from or what their work status is.
See this link: https://www1.nyc.gov/nycbusiness/description/wage-regulations-in-new-york-state
If this is not enough, call some employment lawyers. New York has a 6 year SOL for wage claims so some employees just keep track of their hours and pay (keep a notebook, your bank deposit slips, wage statements), wait until they get a better job, retain legal counsel and sue their former employer after they have left this job. Of course, an employee will not be able to recover any unpaid wages which they performed more than 6 years ago since you can only go back a maximum of 6 years. Retaliation is illegal but many employees don't want to push that envelope until they have another job lined up. Good luck.
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