The Alcott Group Advises New York State Employers on Two New Rulings

The Alcott Group Advises New York State Employers on Two New Rulings

Farmingdale, NY and Buffalo, NY…
The Alcott Group (Farmingdale, NY and Buffalo, NY), a leading Professional Employer Organization (PEO) providing comprehensive Human Resources outsourcing services, wants New York employers to be aware of two recent rulings:

Unpaid Leaves of Absence for Spouses of Military Personnel
Effective August 16th, 2006, New York State employers with 20 or more employees must now adhere to a new regulation regarding their employees who are spouses of military personnel. Specifically, the ruling requires that employees whose spouses are members of the U.S. Armed Forces, National Guard or reserves and who have been deployed during a period of military conflict to a combat theater or combat zone of operations may be eligible for an unpaid leaves of absence. There are other criteria which employees must meet in order to qualify for the unpaid leave. They are:

• The employee must work an average of 20 hours per week or more, and
• The employee's spouse must be on a leave from the military.

Independent contractors are not covered under the regulation.

To be clear, the new regulation also stipulates how it defines "a period of military conflict," which is "a period of war declared by Congress, or in which a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces is ordered to active duty pursuant to sections 12301 and 12302 of title 10 of the United States Code.

Employers are advised not to take this ruling lightly. The regulation stipulates that employers are prohibited from retaliating against an employee who requests or takes a leave of absence based on this regulation.

Employers with 20 or more employees are also advised to inform their managers and supervisors of this new ruling in order to uphold their employees' rights under the regulation.

Minimum Wage and Minimum Compensation Increases
In another ruling affecting all New York State employers, effective January 1st, 2007, the state minimum wage will increase to $7.15 per hour and the state minimum compensation required for an exempt employee will increase to $536.10 per week or $27,877.20 per year.

Employers with questions regarding either of these rulings are urged to call their Professional Employer Organization or The Alcott Group at: 631-420-0100.