Uniform Maintenance Allowance Jumps to $18.65/Week in 2026

New York's 2026 wage order adjustments, effective January 1, 2026, increased the uniform maintenance allowance to $18.65 per week for employees working 30 or more hours weekly in Nassau County, Suffolk County, and New York City. Employers who require workers to wear uniforms and haven't yet updated their payroll systems are accruing wage liability with each passing pay period. The allowance applies to all private employers—restaurants, hotels, healthcare facilities, retailers, and security firms—regardless of size.

What Qualifies as a "Required Uniform"

The definition matters because it determines which positions trigger the allowance obligation. Under New York's wage orders, a required uniform is work-specific clothing that an employer mandates and that cannot reasonably be worn as ordinary street clothing. Branded polo shirts, chef's coats, aprons, work vests, scrubs with facility logos, and specialized safety gear typically qualify. Standard clothing items—plain black pants, white shirts, or generic khakis—generally do not, provided employees can wear them outside of work.

Employers often miscategorize borderline items. A restaurant requiring servers to wear plain black pants and a provided branded apron owes the allowance for the apron but not the pants. A medical practice requiring employees to wear facility-logoed scrubs owes the allowance for those scrubs. Employers who are uncertain about how their dress code maps to the uniform definition should document the analysis—enforcement by the New York Department of Labor focuses on whether the clothing serves a purpose exclusive to the workplace. Employers subject to New York's wage and hour framework can review the full scope of their obligations through Benton Oakfield's wage and hour compliance resources, which cover uniform maintenance allowance obligations alongside other 2026 requirements.

The 2026 Allowance Rates by Hours Worked

The allowance is tiered by weekly hours, and employers must apply the correct rate based on each employee's actual schedule:

• 30+ hours per week: $18.65/week (Nassau, Suffolk, NYC, Westchester)
• 20–29 hours per week: $14.75/week
• Under 20 hours per week: $8.90/week

These rates apply to the NYC and suburban metro counties. Employers with locations in other parts of New York State should confirm the applicable rate for those jurisdictions, as lower rates apply outside the metro area. According to Klehr Harrison's 2026 employment law update, these allowance increases are coordinated with the broader minimum wage adjustments and are indexed annually, meaning rates will continue to change in future years.

The allowance must be paid weekly alongside the employee's regular wages and must appear as a separate, identifiable line item on the pay stub. Employers cannot bundle it into base pay, deduct it from wages, or require employees to reimburse any portion of it.

The Laundering Alternative

Employers have one option that eliminates the allowance obligation entirely: launder and maintain uniforms themselves. If the employer collects, cleans, irons, repairs, and returns uniforms at no cost to employees, no weekly allowance is required. This is a legitimate operational choice for employers with on-site laundry facilities or contracts with commercial laundry services.

The critical point is that the obligation is binary. If the employer does not handle maintenance, the allowance is mandatory—there is no middle ground where employees are asked to maintain uniforms in exchange for partial reimbursement or a reduced allowance. Any arrangement that shifts maintenance costs to employees constitutes a wage violation, regardless of how it's structured in the employee handbook.

Industries Most Affected on Long Island

Hospitality employers—hotels, restaurants, bars, and catering operations across Nassau and Suffolk Counties—typically have the highest density of uniform-wearing employees and are therefore most exposed to compliance gaps. A hotel with 40 uniformed employees working full-time schedules owes $746 per week in allowances, or roughly $38,800 annually, if it is not laundering uniforms in-house. Healthcare facilities requiring branded scrubs face similar math across nursing, aide, and support staff positions. Retail operations with branded vests or aprons, and security firms with required uniforms, also fall squarely within the requirement.

For employers managing the full picture of 2026 payroll compliance—including the $17/hour minimum wage now in effect for Nassau and Suffolk County—reviewing uniform allowance practices as part of a broader payroll policy and wage compliance audit is an efficient way to address multiple obligations in a single review cycle.

What to Do Now

Because the allowance has been in effect since January 1, 2026, employers who have not yet implemented it should treat this as a retroactive correction, not a prospective change. Back wages are owed for any pay periods since January 1 in which covered employees did not receive the correct allowance. The New York Department of Labor can assess back wages, liquidated damages, and civil fines for violations, and employees have a private right of action to pursue wage claims independently.

Four concrete steps cover the core compliance obligation:

• Identify covered positions. Review every role with a dress code requirement and determine whether the clothing qualifies as a required uniform under the definition. Document the analysis for each position.
• Calculate the correct rate. Confirm each covered employee's average weekly hours and apply the appropriate tier ($18.65, $14.75, or $8.90) based on current schedules.
• Update payroll systems. Configure weekly allowance payments as a separate line item on pay stubs. Verify that the allowance is not being offset against wages or deducted elsewhere in the payroll process.
• Correct retroactive gaps. Calculate any unpaid allowances owed since January 1, 2026, and issue corrective payments promptly. Retaining documentation of this correction demonstrates good faith compliance.

Additionally, the Davis Wright Tremaine 2026 New York employment legislation preview notes that uniform allowance rates are part of a broader set of wage order changes that also include updates to tip credits, meal credits, and lodging allowances. Employers in hospitality and food service should review all of these components together rather than treating the uniform allowance in isolation.

Employers with questions about how the uniform maintenance allowance applies to their specific workforce can reach Benton Oakfield at info@bentonoakfield.com.

This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or benefits advice. Requirements vary based on employer size, location, and plan structure. Information is current as of 2026-02-20. Employers should consult qualified advisors for guidance on their specific circumstances.