Sign Up for Alerts
Sign up to receive receive industry-specific emails from our legal team.
Sign Up for Alerts
We provide tailored, industry-specific legal updates to our clients and other friends of the firm.
Areas of Interest
December 21st, 2015
Year-end Compliance: NYC Requires Certain Employers to Offer Transit Benefits
New York City's Commuter Benefits Law takes effect on January 1, 2016. Under the law, for-profit and nonprofit employers with 20 or more full-time non-union employees working in New York City must offer their full-time employees the opportunity to use pre-tax income to purchase qualified transportation fringe benefits. (See Appendix A for a list of mass transit providers.) These offers must be made by January 1, 2016, or within four weeks after an employee starts full-time work, whichever is later.
You do not have to have a bricks-and-mortar office in New York City to fall within the scope of the new law. Employers located outside of New York City or even in other states whose employees work in New York City may have to comply as well.
The law provides employers with a six-month grace period--from January 1, 2016 until July 1, 2016--before the Department of Consumer Affairs ("DCA") is authorized to seek penalties. After June 30, 2016, employers will have an opportunity to correct any violation of the Commuter Benefits Law within 90 days before any penalty may be imposed. The DCA may fine employers between $100 and $250 for the first violation of the law if the employer does not cure the violation within 90 days. If the violation is not cured after the first fine is imposed, an additional fine of $250 may be issued after every additional 30-day period of noncompliance.
The new law requires employers to keep records demonstrating that each eligible full-time employee was offered the opportunity to use pre-tax income to purchase transit benefits, and indicate whether the employee accepted or declined the offer. Employers may use the form available on the DCA website nyc.gov/commuterbenefits to document compliance. The law requires employers to keep records for two years.
If you have questions about the new Commuter Benefits Law, or about other employment law matters, please contact Wendy Stryker at (212) 705 4838 or wstryker@fkks.com, Gavin McElroy at (212) 826 5541 or gmcelroy@fkks.com, or any other member of the Frankfurt Kurnit Executive Compensation & Employment Group.
Other Employment Law Alerts
New California Employment Law Changes You Need to Know
2019 was a historic year for employment law in California. In case you missed them, we summarized the key employment law changes that may fundamentally affect businesses with California employees in 2020. Read more.
January 7 2020
Get Ready for New York Minimum Wage and Exempt Salary Changes
Increases to the New York State minimum hourly wage for non-exempt employees and increases in the minimum salary for exempt administrative and executive employees take effect on December 31, 2019. The required minimum rate and salary depends on the employee’s location and number of employees. Read more.
December 11 2019
How to Comply With New York’s New Harassment Rules That Are Taking Effect Now
Dramatic changes in New York’s sexual harassment laws are effective now, or will go into effect shortly. New York employers will have to adapt and take some important steps to comply. Here’s a summary of what all New York employers need to know. Read more.
November 12 2019
