Overtime pay available to plaintiffs under the New York Labor Law

The Court of Appeals holds that employees who were not entitled to certain overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act can still get that overtime under the New York Labor Law.

The case is Hayward v. IBI Armored Services, Inc., issued on April 3, only a week after the case was argued. Plaintiffs transported money to and from grocery stores and banks in New York City. Since May 2014, they have not been paid overtime (1.5 times their hourly rate). Hence, this lawsuit.

The FLSA has a Motor Carrier Exemption, which means certain motor carriers do not get that overtime pay. The district court said this exemption not only guides the FLSA but also the New York Labor Law. The Court of Appeals says plaintiffs are in fact entitled to that overtime pay under state law. Under state law, "employees subject to FLSA exemptions like the Motor Carrier Exemption are nonetheless entitled to overtime compensation at a rate of one-half times the minimum wage."

The Second Circuit reaches this conclusion through careful analysis of the New York Labor Law, which surgically adopts certain FLSA provisions but not others. Specifically, while plaintiffs cannot get 1.5 times their regular wage under the FLSA and the New York Labor Law, they are entitled to 1.5 times the minimum wage under the New York Labor Law.