You have asked if a special legislative district library and other types of public libraries must follow New York State Labor Law Section 191 (Labor Law Article 6).
There is no case law or regulatory guidance directly on this point. However, based on Labor Law Article 6’s definition of “employer” (set forth below), a good rule is: any public library in New York State which must follow Civil Service Law (because they are “governmental”) is not an “employer” governed by Labor Law Article 6 (which covers not only “frequency of pay” but requirements for paid sick leave and disclosure of compensation ranges).
Unless a grant or requirement as a “federal contractor” applies to a particular library, there is also no federal law or regulation governing the frequency of pay for public library employees. That said, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act will require all library types to pay non-exempt workers time-and-a-half for hours worked in excess of forty, in a standard workweek (“governmental” libraries can also offer “comp time”).
CAUTION: It is worth noting that despite Labor Law Article 6 not applying to any “governmental” (non-association) public libraries, other state laws governing employment terms do apply to such libraries, including the requirements to provide employees with disability insurance, workers’ compensation insurance, and unemployment insurance. So, it is wise to double-check before concluding that an exemption applies!
Thank you for allowing me to be of service on this question.
§ 190. Definitions.
As used in this article:
- “Wages” means the earnings of an employee for labor or services rendered, regardless of whether the amount of earnings is determined on a time, piece, commission or other basis. The term “wages” also includes benefits or wage supplements as defined in section one hundred ninety-eight-c of this article, except for the purposes of sections one hundred ninety-one and one hundred ninety-two of this article.
- “Employee” means any person employed for hire by an employer in any employment.
- “Employer” includes any person, corporation, limited liability company, or association employing any individual in any occupation, industry, trade, business or service. The term “employer” shall not include a governmental agency.
- “Manual worker” means a mechanic, workingman or laborer.