New York has enacted New York Assembly Bill A6950, known as the Construction Reporting Pay Act, creating new reporting-pay and scheduling-pay requirements for certain construction workers. The Act takes effect on December 8, 2026.
The legislation is intended to provide construction employees with greater scheduling reliability, predictability, and compensation protections when they report to work or experience last-minute schedule cancellations.
Background
The legislature found that construction employees should receive the same scheduling reliability and predictability available in other industries. According to the law, more predictable scheduling may improve labor-management relations and contribute to safer working environments.
The Act creates similar but separate requirements for:
- Certain prevailing wage construction projects covered by New York Labor Law § 224-g; and
- Construction employees generally under New York Labor Law § 196-e.
Four-Hour Reporting Pay Requirement
The Act requires employers to provide minimum compensation when covered construction workers report to work.
For specified prevailing wage construction projects, a laborer, worker, or mechanic who reports to work at the request or permission of a contractor must be paid no less than four hours at the applicable prevailing wage rate, including supplements, for the employee’s regularly scheduled classification. The requirement does not apply if the applicable prevailing wage schedule already provides reporting-pay wages or benefits greater than those provided by the statute.
New Labor Law § 196-e creates a similar reporting-pay requirement for construction employees generally. An employee engaged in construction who reports for work at the employer’s request or permission must be paid for at least four hours, or the number of hours in the regularly scheduled shift, whichever is less, at the employee’s promised hourly wage.
New Two-Hour Scheduling Pay Requirement
The Act also establishes a separate payment obligation for short-notice shift cancellations.
A covered laborer, worker, or mechanic scheduled to report for work must receive two hours of pay at the applicable prevailing wage rate, including supplements, when the scheduled shift is canceled with less than 12 hours’ notice.
Similarly, under Labor Law § 196-e, a construction employee scheduled to report for work must be paid two hours at the employee’s promised hourly wage if the scheduled shift is canceled with less than 12 hours’ notice. The payments are deemed wages under the Labor Law.
Covered Employers
The law applies broadly to construction employers and creates separate requirements addressing:
- Contractors performing specified prevailing wage construction projects;
- Construction employers generally;
- Construction laborers, workers, and mechanics; and
- Other employees engaged in construction work.
Employer Takeaway
Before the law takes effect, construction employers should review scheduling, dispatch, payroll, and cancellation practices.
Employers may now face compensation obligations in two common situations:
- Reporting Pay: Workers who report to work may be entitled to a minimum payment even if little or no work is available.
- Cancellation Pay: Workers whose shifts are canceled with less than 12 hours’ notice may be entitled to two hours of pay even if they never report to the worksite.
Construction employers should also evaluate how the new requirements interact with existing prevailing wage schedules, collective bargaining agreements, and workforce scheduling procedures.