Hiring employees in New York: the 2026 compliance checklist for employers and recruiters

As of October 2026, an employer hiring in New York has to register with the state on Form NYS-100 once it pays $300 in wages in a quarter, carry workers' compensation and, after 30 days of employment, disability and Paid Family Leave coverage, post a pay range in every job ad once it has four or more employees, give each new hire a written pay notice with a signed acknowledgment, collect Form IT-2104, and report the hire within 20 calendar days. New York also bans salary history questions at any size and limits how criminal records are used. In New York City, criminal history waits until after a conditional offer, most credit checks and pre-employment marijuana tests are barred, and automated hiring tools need a yearly bias audit.

This page is the New York hub: one table with every item and its official source, then a short section on each. Where we already have a full guide to an item, the section summarizes it and links there.

The New York hiring checklist at a glance

What must be in place before the first New York hire?

A state employer account. The Department of Labor says a general business becomes liable for unemployment insurance on "the first day of the calendar quarter you pay remuneration of $300 or more," and the combined NYS-100 registration covers unemployment insurance, withholding and wage reporting.

Then three insurance coverages. The Workers' Compensation Board says "virtually all employers in New York State must provide workers' compensation coverage." Disability and Paid Family Leave coverage is required once an employer has "one or more employees on each of at least 30 days in any calendar year," taking effect four weeks after the 30th day. The federal layer (an EIN, Form W-4 and Form I-9 by the third business day) applies on top.

Does a staffing or recruiting agency need a New York license?

Often, yes. General Business Law Article 11 requires a Department of Labor license for anyone who procures employment for a fee, and agencies located in New York City hold a city license from DCWP instead. Temporary staffing firms that employ the workers they assign have a stated exception inside the city, but search firms should get a written answer rather than assume. Our guide to the New York staffing agency license covers fees, bond and renewal.

What must a New York job posting include, and can you ask about pay history?

Employers with four or more employees, including employment agencies and recruiters, must state a good-faith compensation range in every posting for a job, promotion or transfer performed at least partly in New York under Labor Law § 194-b; civil penalties run up to $1,000, $2,000 and $3,000 for first, second and later violations. New York City enforces its own salary transparency law on top. Labor Law § 194-a bars every employer from asking about or relying on salary history and names employment agents and recruiters as employers. See New York pay transparency law and the New York salary history ban.

When can you ask about criminal history or run a credit check?

Statewide, Correction Law Article 23-A bars denying a job because of a conviction unless the offense has a direct relationship to the job or hiring would create an unreasonable risk, judged against the factors in § 753, and Executive Law § 296(16) bars asking about arrests that ended in the applicant's favor and sealed records. When an employer obtains a consumer report with conviction information, General Business Law § 380-g(d) requires giving the applicant "a printed or electronic copy of article twenty-three-A of the correction law." In New York City, the Fair Chance Act adds the timing rule: no criminal history questions or checks until after a conditional offer. See New York's ban-the-box rules.

We found no statewide limit on employment credit checks, but New York City bars most requests for or use of consumer credit history in hiring, with narrow exemptions the city says it reads strictly; see the Commission on Human Rights guidance and our credit check laws guide.

Can you record or transcribe a job interview in New York?

Yes, as a participant. New York's eavesdropping law, Penal Law § 250.00 and § 250.05, lets a party to a call or conversation record it; recording one you are not part of without any participant's consent is a class E felony. Many candidates sit in all-party states whose law may apply to you, so asking first is the safer habit. See New York recording consent law for interviews and recording calls across state lines.

Does New York regulate AI in hiring?

New York City does. Under Local Law 144, enforced by DCWP since July 5, 2023, an employer or employment agency may not use an automated employment decision tool on candidates or employees for city jobs unless the tool has had a bias audit within the past year, a summary is public, and candidates get notice ten business days before use. Our pages on the Local Law 144 bias audit and Local Law 144 and AI note-takers explain what is in scope. We found no statewide AI hiring statute for private employers.

Can you drug test applicants in New York?

Testing is allowed statewide, but cannabis is protected. Labor Law § 201-d bars refusing to hire someone for legal cannabis use outside work hours, off the premises and without employer property, while allowing action when an employee shows "specific articulable symptoms while working" or where state or federal law requires it. New York City goes further: Administrative Code § 8-107(31) bars requiring a prospective employee to be tested for marijuana, with exceptions for federally required testing and safety-sensitive roles listed in the Commission's rules. See our drug testing laws guide.

Does New York require E-Verify?

No. New York State has no law requiring or restricting E-Verify, and bills in both directions have not been enacted as of October 2026. Federal contractors with the FAR E-Verify clause still enroll. Our page on E-Verify requirements in New York lists the pending bills and how we checked.

Which state withholding form does a new hire complete?

Form IT-2104, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate, which sets withholding for New York State, New York City and Yonkers and asks whether the employee lives in the city or Yonkers. The employee completes it alongside the federal W-4, and the employer keeps it. A copy of the IT-2104 can double as the new-hire report, as explained below.

Which notices must a new New York employee get at hire?

• Pay notice. Labor Law § 195(1) requires a written notice "at the time of hiring" with the pay rate and basis, the overtime rate for non-exempt employees, the regular payday and employer details, in English and the employee's primary language. The employer must get "a signed and dated written acknowledgement" and keep it "for six years." The Department of Labor publishes template notices, including Form LS 54 for hourly workers, in several languages.
• Sexual harassment policy. Labor Law § 201-g requires giving employees, in writing "at the time of hiring," the employer's sexual harassment prevention policy and the information presented at its training.
• Electronic monitoring notice. An employer that monitors phone, email or internet use must give "prior written notice upon hiring," get an acknowledgment and post the notice under Civil Rights Law § 52-c; penalties run from $500 to $3,000.
• Article 23-A copy. Only when a background report shows a conviction, as above.

How do you report a new hire in New York?

Report to the Department of Taxation and Finance "within 20 calendar days from the hiring date," through the New York New Hire Online Reporting Center or by sending a copy of Form IT-2104 by fax or mail. A new hire includes someone rehired after a separation of 60 or more consecutive days. The report needs the employee's name, address, Social Security number and hire date, the employer's name, address and identification number, and whether dependent health insurance is available and when the employee qualifies. Independent contractor arrangements with contracts over $2,500 must also be reported, online. The penalty is $20 per employee not reported, or per false or incomplete report.

The New York hiring steps in order

1. Before the first hire: file the NYS-100 and bind workers' compensation; add disability and Paid Family Leave coverage once you pass 30 days of employment in the year. Agencies confirm their state or city license.
2. Posting: include a good-faith pay range if you have four or more employees, and meet the New York City rule for city roles.
3. Screening: no salary history questions; in New York City, no criminal history before a conditional offer and no credit check unless an exemption applies.
4. Interview: record only as a participant, and ask first when the candidate may be in an all-party state; in New York City, audit and give notice of any automated scoring tool.
5. Conditional offer: apply the Article 23-A factors to any conviction and give the Article 23-A copy; in New York City, no marijuana test unless an exception applies.
6. First day: Form I-9, W-4, IT-2104, the pay notice with signed acknowledgment, the harassment policy and any monitoring notice.
7. Within 20 calendar days: file the new-hire report.

Hiring in more than one state? The same checklist is available for California, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Ohio.