State of New York OPINION Court of Appeals This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the New York Reports. No. 11 Lilya Andryeyeva, &c., et al., Respondents, v. New York Health Care, Inc., d/b/a New York Home Attendant Agency, et al., Appellants. --------------------------------------------------- No. 12 Adriana Moreno, &c., et al., Respondents, v. Future Care Health Services, Inc., et al., Appellants. Case No. 11: Sari E. Kolatch, for appellants. Jason J. Rozger, for respondents. Home Care Association of New York State, Inc. et al.; Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Association of New York State, Inc.; Home Care Association of America et al.; Greater New York Hospital Association, et al.; Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP; Community Development Project, et al.; New York State Association of Health Care Providers, Inc.; New York State Department of Labor; National Center for Law and Economic Justice, amici curiae. Case No. 12: Aaron C. Schlesinger, for appellants. Michael J. D. Sweeney, for respondents. Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP; Greater New York Hospital Association, et al.; Community Development Project, et al.; New York State Department of Labor, amici curiae. RIVERA, J.: The common issue presented in these joint appeals is whether, pursuant to the New York State Department of Labor’s (DOL) Miscellaneous Industries and Occupations Minimum Wage Order (Wage Order), an employer must pay its home health care aide -1- -2- Nos. 11 & 12 employees for each hour of a 24-hour shift. DOL has interpreted its Wage Order to require payment for at least 13 hours of a 24-hour shift if the employee is allowed a sleep break of at least 8 hours—and actually receives five hours of uninterrupted sleep—and three hours of meal break time. DOL’s interpretation of its Wage Order does not conflict with the promulgated language, nor has DOL adopted an irrational or unreasonable construction, and so the Appellate Division erred in rejecting that interpretation. Therefore, we reverse the Appellate Division orders and remit for consideration of alternative grounds for class certification for alleged violations of New York’s Labor Law, inclusive of defendants’ alleged systematic denial of wages earned and due, unaddressed by the courts below because of their erroneous rejection of DOL’s interpretation. I. Statutory and regulatory background New York’s Labor Law requires that all employees be paid a minimum wage for each hour worked (Labor Law § 652). The Legislature passed the Minimum Wage Act (the “Act”) in 1937 to ensure that workers “receive wages sufficient to provide adequate maintenance and to protect their health” (L 1937, ch 276, § 551). In 1971, the Legislature extended the Act to cover home health care aides living outside the employer’s home (L 1971, ch 1165, § 1), and in 1978 again amended the Act to require a minimum wage for “each hour worked” (L 1978, ch 747, § 1). -2- -3- Nos. 11 & 12 The Act delegates to the Commissioner of Labor1 the authority to set that minimum wage by issuing “wage orders” (L 1937, ch 276, §§ 555–557), which are promulgated ...
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