Pay Stub Requirements in New York
At a glance
| Governing law and coverage | N.Y. Lab. Law § 195(3). All private-sector employers; federal, state, and local government employers excluded. Charter/private schools and nonprofits covered; employees working in other states not covered (NYSDOL FAQ) |
|---|---|
| Must provide a statement and when | Furnish each employee a statement with every payment of wages (§ 195(3)) |
| Pay period, employer, and employee identification | Dates of work covered; employee name; employer name, address, and phone number. No employee number or SSN field stated (§ 195(3)) |
| Gross earnings, hours, rates, and pay basis | Rate(s) and basis; gross wages. Non-overtime-exempt: regular/overtime rates and regular/overtime hours. Piece-rate: each rate and pieces at each rate (§ 195(3)) |
| Deductions, net pay, allowances, and other required items | Deductions, minimum-wage allowances, and net wages; applicable home-care-aide benefits and prevailing-wage supplements need specified type/rate detail or accompanying notice (§ 195(3)) |
| Electronic delivery, consent, printing, and storage | Allowed if workers can access statements on an employer-provided computer and print copies. No express consent or paper opt-out stated in the cited NYSDOL guidance |
| Employee copy access and employer retention | On request, written explanation of wage computation. Employer keeps contemporaneous true/accurate payroll records at least 6 years; no employee statement-copy deadline or fee stated (§ 195(3)-(4)) |
| Enforcement, damages, penalties, and deadlines | $250 per workday violation occurs/continues, $5,000 cap, costs and reasonable fees; injunctive/declaratory relief discretionary (§ 198(1-d)). Six-year limitations period (§ 198(3)) |
Requirements one by one
Every wage payment carries the core statement
Labor Law § 195(3) requires the employer to furnish the statement “with every payment of wages.” It must identify the dates of work covered, the employee, and the employer by name, address, and phone number.
The same statement lists every applicable rate and the pay basis—hour, shift, day, week, salary, piece, commission, or another basis—along with gross wages. It also lists deductions, allowances claimed as part of the minimum wage, and net wages.
Hours, piece work, and specified benefits add detail
For an employee who is not exempt from overtime compensation under the cited New York rules, § 195(3) requires the regular and overtime rates plus the number of regular and overtime hours. For piece-rate pay, it requires every applicable piece rate and the number of pieces completed at each rate.
Home-care-aide benefits and prevailing-wage supplements are conditional fields. When applicable, the statement identifies each type and its hourly rate or is accompanied by the notice that § 195(3) permits.
Electronic delivery requires access and printing
NYSDOL's Wage Theft Prevention Act FAQ, question 28, says wage statements may be electronic only when workers can access them on a computer provided by the employer and can print a copy for their records. The cited guidance does not state a separate consent or paper-opt-out formula.
Payroll records last six years
Labor Law § 195(4) requires contemporaneous, true, and accurate payroll records to be maintained and preserved for at least six years. Section 195(3) separately gives an employee, upon request, a written explanation of how the wages were computed. The cited provisions do not set a deadline or copy charge for a request for duplicate past statements.
A missing statement has a workday-based remedy
Labor Law § 198(1-d) provides $250 for each workday that the missing-statement violation occurs or continues, capped at $5,000, together with costs and reasonable attorney's fees. A court may also award injunctive or declaratory relief. Labor Law § 198(3) sets a six-year limitations period for an action on a liability imposed by the article.
What trips people up
The ordinary field list is not the end of the calculation. Overtime status, piece-rate pay, home-care-aide benefits, and prevailing-wage supplements can add details to the statement.
Electronic availability is not enough if the worker cannot practically use the record. The Department's permission expressly depends on employer-provided computer access and the ability to print.
The new-hire pay notice is a different document. Section 195(2) allows some pay changes to be reflected on a wage statement, but this page addresses the statement delivered with wages, not the separate hiring and change-notice rules.
Common questions
Does the statement need both regular and overtime hours for everyone?
No. Section 195(3) attaches that hours-and-rates list to employees who are not exempt from overtime compensation under New York law or regulation.
Can an employee ask how the employer calculated the pay?
Yes. Section 195(3) says that, upon request, the employer must furnish a written explanation of how the wages were computed.
Is $5,000 awarded for one missing statement?
Not automatically. Section 198(1-d) uses $250 for each workday the violation occurs or continues, with $5,000 as the total cap for the employee's civil statement claim.
Statutes and sources
- N.Y. Lab. Law § 195(3)-(4). Statement timing and fields, written computation explanation, and six-year payroll retention. Official text (accessed July 13, 2026).
- N.Y. Lab. Law § 198(1-d), (3). Missing-statement damages, fees, other relief, and six-year filing period. Official text (accessed July 13, 2026).
- NYSDOL Wage Theft Prevention Act FAQ. Private-sector coverage and electronic-statement access and printing conditions. Official PDF (accessed July 13, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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