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Recently Asked Questions

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Displaying 1 - 5 of 7
Question Submission Date
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?
Updated Unemployment Benefits in NY Labor Law

[NOTE: This submission is based on real-life questions about the new requirement imposed by New York State Labor Law Section 590(2).]

I heard that as of November 13, 2023, ALL employers in New York must notify an employee of the ability to apply for Unemployment Benefits upon "separation of employment" OR if their regular weekly hours are reduced to below 30.  I have several questions:

Is this true?

Does this new law really apply to ALL employers in New York (even a town or village public library)?

Does the new law apply even if the employee is resigning or retiring?

Does the new law apply to no-show employees or others who may have abandoned their employment?

Is there a form for this notice?

When does this notice have to be provided?

Why was this law passed?

Is there a model policy for this law?