Ithaca College

In April 2011, the Wage Theft Prevention Act (WTPA) went into effect. This law was passed to provide more protection to workers in New York State. To ensure compliance with the new provisions of the law, all College employees (staff, administration, faculty, and students), will receive a written notice and acknowledgement of pay rate and pay date information as outlined under Section 195.1 of the New York State Labor Law in January 2012. Employers must have each employee sign and date the completed notice.

The WTPA requires employers to give written notice to each new hire and to all employees by February 1st each year.  The notice must include:

• Rate or rates of pay, including overtime rate of pay (if it applies)
• How the employee is paid: by the hour, shift, day, week, commission, etc.
• Regular payday
• Official name of the employer and any other names used for business (DBA)
• Address and phone number of the employer’s main office or principal location
• Allowances taken as part of the minimum wage (tip, meal and lodging deductions)

Employers must have each employee sign and date the completed notice, provide a copy of the signed notice to the employee, and retain the original notice for a period of six years.

This new law also outlines new record keeping requirements, additional information that must be included on wage statements or pay stubs, and provides for higher penalties when an employer fails to pay wages required or is found to be out of compliance with any of the provisions of the law. 

The written notices will be generated in early January and department supervisors will be asked to provide the notice to employees within their department. The employee will be asked to sign the document and return it to the supervisor. The supervisor will then provide a copy of the signed document to the employee.