What is the Spread of Hours Law?
Title 12 of the New York Codes, Rules, and Regulations (NYCRR) §142-1.6 is a law that requires employers to pay any employee an extra hour of pay, at the basic minimum hourly rate, for any day on which the employee’s “spread of hours” exceeds 10. The spread of hours is defined as “the length of the interval between the beginning and end of an employee’s workday.” Essentially, if an employee’s “punch in” and “punch out” time exceeds 10 hours on any given day, even if that employee left the restaurant or hotel for a 6-hour lunch and only actually worked 5 hours that day, the employer must pay them for an extra hour. The additional hour of pay “is not payment for time worked or worked performed” and does not need to be included in the regular rate for the purpose of calculating overtime pay.
Is There Anything I Can Do to Prevent Paying the Extra Hour?
To avoid paying “spread of hours” pay, an employer is entitled to set an employee’s work schedule as long as that schedule is set on a regular basis, is consistent with the employer’s normal operations, and is not just arbitrarily set as a way for the employer to circumvent this law.
Who is Covered by the Spread of Hours Law?
The Spread of Hours Law applies to all employees in restaurants and all-year hotels, regardless of the employee’s regular rate of pay.
If you have any questions about whether your hotel or restaurant is in compliance with this Law, please contact DiPasquale & Summers LLP for a consultation.