Annual wage notice requirement eliminated in New York

Starting in 2015, employers in New York will likely no longer be required to issue annual wage notices to employees. According to the New York Labor & Employment Law Report, the rule change is welcome among many employers who consider this requirement extremely burdensome and costly.

The bill was passed in the New York Assembly and Senate, and is awaiting the signature of Gov. Cuomo.

"On the whole, this legislation is a positive development for employers in New York, who will no longer have to engage in the costly and time-consuming process of issuing wage notices to all employees between January 1 and February of each year," reported the New York Labor & Employment Law Report.

Employers will still be required to issue a wage notice within 10 days of a new employee's first day of work.

The law also increases the penalties for employers who fail to meet the 10-day deadline to $50 per work day that the violation occurred, with a maximum penalty of $5,000.

Minimum raise raised to $11 in Massachusetts

On June 26, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signed legislation establishing that the state's minimum wage will increase to $11 per hour by 2017. This is the highest minimum wage amount in the United States, according to the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM). 

Currently $8, the minimum wage in Massachusetts will increase incrementally each year until 2017, rising to $9 on Jan. 1, 2015, $10 effective Jan. 1, 2016, and $11 per hour effective Jan. 1, 2017, SHRM reported.

SHRM noted that several other states are moving to increase their minimum wage in coming years after President Barack Obama was unable to raise the nation's minimum wage to $10.10 per hour. For example:

• Vermont's minimum wage will increase to $10.50 per hour by 2018.
• Connecticut, Hawaii, and Maryland are all moving toward a $10.10 minimum wage.
• The District of Columbia will raise its minimum wage to $11.50 in 2016.
• Seattle aims to raise its minimum wage to $15 per hour over the next seven years.