Worker Rights Immigrant Workers Job Hunters Resources

Know Your Rights

Important Information for Workers

Download Important Information for Workers flyer (02/2023) in: English | Español (Spanish) | Français (French) | Русский (Russian)

If you work in NYC, you have rights regardless of immigration status, national origin, or country of origin.

Rights Enforced by DCWP

Paid Safe and Sick Leave
If you work for a private employer, including as a domestic worker, you can get up to 40 or 56 hours of leave a year to care for yourself or family. Use leave for:

health, including COVID-19;
safety because of domestic violence, unwanted sexual contact, stalking, or human trafficking.

Fast Food Worker Rights
If you work in fast food, you must get:

regular weekly schedules;
extra pay for schedule changes;
priority to work new shifts;
job protection from illegal firing, layoff, or hours reduction.

Retail Worker Rights
If you work in retail, you must get your weekly work schedule 72 hours before the first shift.

Your employer cannot make last-minute changes.

Food Delivery Worker Rights
If you do restaurant deliveries for an app, apps must:

tell you how much the customer tips for each delivery;
tell you your total pay and tips for the previous day;
allow you to limit how far you will go from restaurants and refuse to use certain bridges or tunnels;
tell you route details before you accept a delivery;
pay you at least once a week.

Freelance Worker Rights
If you are an independent contractor (freelancer) in NYC, you must get:

a written contract;
timely and full payment for your work.

Additional Worker Rights
Learn more about additional key NYC workplace laws and rules enforced by DCWP.

Have questions or need help from DCWP?

Call 311 (212-NEW-YORK outside NYC). Ask for Paid Safe and Sick Leave, Fair Workweek Law, Delivery Workers, or Freelance Workers.
Email OLPS@dcwp.nyc.gov
Visit nyc.gov/workers to file a complaint or ask a question.

Rights Enforced by Other Agencies

Minimum Wage and Overtime
The minimum wage for NYC is $15 an hour.

You must be paid for every hour you work, including work before and/or after your scheduled shift and time spent traveling during your scheduled shift.
If you work more than 40 hours in a week, your employer must pay you time and a half for overtime for hours worked over 40. You have this right even if your employer pays you a daily rate or a flat weekly salary.
There are special rates for some tipped workers.

For more information, visit New York State Department of Labor at dol.ny.gov.

Paid Family Leave
Your employer must provide eligible employees job-protected paid time off to:

bond with a newly born, adopted, or fostered child;
care for a family member with a serious health condition; or
assist loved ones when a spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent is deployed abroad on active military service.

For more information, visit New York State Paid Family Leave at paidfamilyleave.ny.gov.

Safe and Healthy Workplace
Your workplace must be free of known health and safety hazards. You also have the right to receive information and training about job hazards.

For more information, visit Occupational Safety and Health Administration at osha.gov.

Discrimination-free workplace
City, state, and federal law prohibit discrimination on the basis of:

Age
Citizenship Status
Arrest or Conviction Record
Caregiver Status
Color
Consumer Credit History
Disability
Genetics
Marital, Partnership, or Family Status
Military Status
National Origin
Pregnancy
Race
Religion/Creed
Sex, Gender, or Gender Identity (includes Sexual Harassment)
Sexual Orientation
Status as a Victim of Domestic Violence, Stalking, and Sex Offenses
Unemployment Status

For more information, visit NYC Commission on Human Rights at nyc.gov/humanrights.

Right to Organize
You can join together with your coworkers to improve your working conditions, including organizing a union. Employers cannot take action against you for organizing or talking with your coworkers about working conditions.

For more information, visit National Labor Relations Board at nlrb.gov.

Note: DCWP is currently in the process of updating our Workers' Bill of Rights Booklets, Audio Files, and Animation. Please continue to monitor this page for updates.