A New York City Ordinance which becomes effective January 1, 2016 will require most New York City employers with at least 20 full-time employees in the city of New York to offer full-time employees the opportunity to purchase pre-tax qualified transportation fringe benefits. For purposes of the Ordinance, a full-time employee is any employee who works an average of 30 hours or more per week for an employer. Some employers may qualify for an exemption from the requirement to offer qualified transportation fringe benefits. For example, the Ordinance does not apply to public entities such as the United States government, the state of New York, the city of New York or generally where a collective bargaining agreement exists between any group of employees and an employer.
The Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), the same agency tasked with enforcement of the New York City Earned Sick Time ordinance, will have responsibility for enforcing the transportation benefits ordinance. Companies subject to the Ordinance that do not comply will be subject to a civil penalty, but employers will have 90 days to fix a violation before any penalty is imposed. To allow businesses adequate time to adjust to the new law, employers will not be subject to penalties for any violations that take place before July 1, 2016. After this time, any employer found to be in violation of the Ordinance may be liable for a civil penalty payable to the City of New York of not less than $100 dollars but not more than $250 for the first violation. A civil penalty of $250 shall be imposed for each such subsequent violation. Such penalty shall not be imposed on any individual employer more than once in any thirty-day period.
For a copy of the Ordinance please click on the link below:
Ordinance: http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/383308/file-1930318095-pdf/NYC_295-A.pdf