New York Employers Face More Uniform Maintenance Pay Claims: Legal Overview and Key Questions Answered

Article contributed by Ryan W. Lee, Glenn S. Grindlinger, and Carolyn D. Richmond

To be safe, employers who require their employees to wear specific attire should know their legal obligations.

Under the Wage Order, if an employer requires an employee to wear a “uniform” (as defined below), the employer must either launder and maintain the uniform or pay the employee a weekly allowance known as “Uniform Maintenance Pay.” The weekly allowance varies depending on the number of hours worked during the week and where the employee works in New York.

Subject to the “wash and wear” exception discussed below, if the hospitality employer requires its employees to wear a uniform and does not launder it, the Uniform Maintenance Pay requirement is triggered regardless of the employee’s wage rate. It is also important to keep in mind that Uniform Maintenance Pay is in addition to the employer’s duty to purchase or reimburse the employee for obtaining a required uniform in the first place.

Under the Wage Order, a uniform is defined as any clothing that an employer requires employees to wear while at work. This includes clothing that must be worn to comply with any federal, state, city or local law, rule or regulation.

Despite the broad definition of uniform, the Wage Order clarifies that a uniform does not include ordinary street clothes. For example, if an employer requires the employee to wear a white button-down shirt, dark jeans and non-slip shoes, the outfit is not deemed a uniform under the Wage Order because such apparel is ordinary street clothing. In such cases, the employer does not need to provide the apparel nor launder it. Nevertheless, the more the employer regulates the style, brand or type of clothes that an employer must wear, the more likely it is that the apparel will be considered a uniform that the employer must provide and launder. Moreover, any clothing bearing an employer’s business logo or other business advertising is considered a uniform, and the employer must purchase such items and pay employees to clean them.

Further, non-street clothes that employers require employees to wear, such as chef’s coats, tuxedoes and aprons, are uniforms within the meaning of the Wage Order. If required by the employer, such apparel must be purchased (or the cost reimbursed) and laundered by the employer.

As discussed in our prior alert, the rate an employer must pay for uniform maintenance increased on January 1, 2026, and varies depending on hours worked and the region where the work is performed.

These amounts must be paid in addition to regular wages.

There are several statutory exceptions and strategies that employers can use to lawfully avoid or reduce Uniform Maintenance Pay obligations. Regardless of the option chosen, employers should notify employees of the relevant policy in writing, such as by inserting it into the employee handbook:

• The “wash and wear” exception. If a required uniform is made of materials that can be easily washed with ordinary laundry and worn without dry cleaning or ironing, the uniform is considered “wash and wear.” Employers do not need to pay Uniform Maintenance Pay if the employer’s uniform is made of wash and wear material and the employer provides the employee a “sufficient number…consistent with the average number of days per week worked.” 
  • The meaning of the phrase “sufficient number…consistent with the average number of days per week worked” is subject to significant litigation. Currently, there is no clear guidance on whether uniforms must be provided in equal number to the average number of days or shifts per week, or if less uniforms would still be sufficient.
  • If the required apparel includes a shirt, checked chef’s pants or chef’s coat, to be safe,the employer should provide at least one shirt/pants/chef coast for every day that the employer anticipates the employee working each week. Thus, if the employer anticipates that the employee will work five days during the week, the employer should provide five shirts/pants/chef’s coats.
  • Employers should also document when they give employees uniforms and the number of uniform sets provided. This documentation can be provided as part of the on-boarding paperwork that employees complete at the commencement of employment, or it could be a receipt of acknowledgement each time a replacement or extra item is provided.
• Launder the uniforms yourself. Employers can also avoid Uniform Maintenance Pay if they launder the uniforms, provide an adequate supply of clean, properly-fitting uniforms, and notify the employees in writing of this practice. (This is typically accomplished if the employer has a cleaning service that brings in fresh uniform items each day.) If, after receiving such notification, employees choose to launder their own uniforms instead of using the employer-provided service, Uniform Maintenance Pay is not required.  
• Establish dress “guidelines” instead of requiring a uniform. Employers may lawfully avoid the Uniform Maintenance Pay requirement by allowing employees to wear ordinary clothing of a specific color or style. A typical guideline that fits into this exception would be requiring all front of house staff to wear a black, crew neck tee shirt without any extra adornments, and dark denim jeans without holes, tears or unhemmed seams. However, employers should exercise caution, as over-specificity may trigger purchase and maintenance obligations.

Uniform Maintenance Pay is an often-overlooked compliance obligation for employers in New York, particularly in the hospitality industry. We have recently seen a significant uptick in Uniform Maintenance Pay claims against New York hospitality employers.

Failure to properly pay Uniform Maintenance Pay when required can expose employers to wage-and-hour class action claims and significant liability. Employers should review their current uniform policies and consider whether any of the strategies outlined above can help minimize risk while maintaining compliance.

For more information, please contact Ryan W. Lee at rwlee@foxrothschild.com or 212.878.7931, Glenn S. Grindlinger at ggrindlinger@foxrothschild.com or 212.905.2305, Carolyn D. Richmond at crichmond@foxrothschild.comor  212.878.7983, or any member of Fox Rothschild’s New York Labor & Employment Department.

This information is intended to inform firm clients and friends about legal developments, including the decisions of courts and administrative bodies. Nothing in this alert should be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion. Readers should not act upon the information contained in this alert without seeking the advice of legal counsel. Views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily this law firm or its clients.