New York State Elevates Salary Basis Thresholds for 2024

The New York State Department of Labor (NYDOL) announced an increase in the minimum salary requirements for exempt executive and administrative employees through a notice of adoption in the New York State Register, on December 27, 2023, according to The National Law Review.

“Executive and Administrative Employees” are defined as individuals engaged in an “executive” or “administrative” role, receiving a “salary” meeting the thresholds established by state regulations, who may be exempt from the state’s overtime pay requirements, according to Section 142-2.14 of the New York Codes, Rules, and Regulations (NYCRR).

The revised minimums stand at $1,200 per week (approximately $62,400 per year) for New York City and “downstate” (Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties), effective December 31, 2023. For the rest of the state, the new minimum is $1,124.20 per week (approximately $58,458.40 per year).

Under the updated regulations, the NYDOL has approved new minimum salary thresholds for the upcoming three years, with incremental increases each year until 2026. The yearly adjustments for the next three years, beginning in 2024, are outlined as follows:

New York City and downstate:

• $1,200 per week ($62,400 per year) starting January 1, 2024
• $1,237.50 per week ($64,350 per year) starting January 1, 2025
• $1,275 per week ($66,300 per year) starting January 1, 2026

The rest of New York State:

• $1,124.20 per week ($58,458.40 per year) starting January 1, 2024
• $1,161.65 per week ($60,405.80 per year) starting January 1, 2025
• $1,199.10 per week ($62,353.20 per year) starting January 1, 2026

This adjustment in salary thresholds for executive and administrative employees aligns with the increase in New York’s minimum wage on January 1, 2024, reaching $16 per hour for New York City and the remainder of downstate, and $15 per hour for the rest of the state.

Professional Employees Threshold

It’s important to note that “Professional Employees” whole are those working in a legitimate “professional capacity,” as outlined in Section 142-2.14 of the NYCRR, and may be exempt from overtime pay requirements, with no specific salary thresholds similar to those for executive or administrative roles. The recent NYDOL regulations do not alter these rules. 

The federal minimum for exempt professional employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is $684 per week or $35,568 per year. Although this minimum remained unchanged for 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) proposed a rule in August 2023 that could substantially raise the minimum weekly salary to $1,059 per week, equivalent to $55,068 per year, but the rule has not yet been finalized.