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Recently Asked Questions (RAQs)

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Library and Other Cultural Workers Cashing Out Accrued Paid Time Off

Our Library has a CSEA Collective Bargaining Agreement with Employees, and individual employment contracts with administrators. All documents codify how many accrued vacation days and sick days an individual employee can “sell back” or be reimbursed for upon separation from service (resignation or retirement). The documents do not address remaining accrued time that employees have earned during their years of service. In NYS labor law are there any regulations stipulating how the employer must handle the balance of accrued time? Does it have a monetary value? May the employee submit for the balance of vacation time off before their separation from service? Are there any circumstances where the employee would have to forfeit their earned/accrued vacation time?

Changing salaried employees to hourly & exempt “professional” employees

Our association library is considering changing some librarian positions from salaried “professional” to hourly. Is that legal?

Labor Law Section 191 (Frequency of payments) and Libraries

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).

Minimum Wage for Public Library Employees

We have 12 employees of the Library. 3 are salaried the rest are minimum wage. Are Library employees subject to NYS DOL Minimum Wage Law as well as the Wage Orders for salaried employees? We are unsure where we would fall. Our funding comes from taxes/aid/grants. We are looking for an answer as soon as you are able as we are preparing our budget for next year. Thank you so much for your help.

Prevailing Wage Rates And Libraries

Are public library systems and public libraries (association, municipal, special district, school district) required to pay prevailing wage? It is highly recommended to pay the prevailing wage for work done using the NY State Aid for Library Construction Program funds. What about other projects - like electrician, snow removal, plowing, and plumbing that do not go out to bid? How does one know if a contract is signed with a vendor - and that vendor decides to subcontract?

Is it dependent upon the 501 (C) status?