The kids have gone home, the bunks and program spaces have been cleaned, and another summer is in the books. After exchanging hugs during a tear-filled goodbye, the counselors head to the camp office for a final order of business: collecting their checks.
Does this describe how you pay your staff? If so, you're not alone. Many camps give staff one check for a full summer of work on the last day of camp. While this practice is certainly common, you may be surprised to learn that it's sometimes not legal.
Much like state-specific minimum wage and overtime laws, most states have a "pay frequency" law that dictates how often employees must be paid. Let's use New York as an example. Manual laborers must be paid weekly while other employees must be paid at least bi-weekly. Most states have some variation of this requirement -- and camps aren't necessarily exempt.
Of course, your camp may be subject to a minimum wage and overtime exemption, but the fact that a camp is exempt from paying its counselors minimum wage does not mean that the camp is also exempt from paying its counselors every two weeks (or on whatever schedule your state law dictates).
Interestingly, the New York Department of Labor issued an opinion letter on this very topic, responding to a camp's question as follows: "You were correctly informed that camp counselors are not covered by the New York State minimum wage requirements." The DOL goes on: "However, the [pay frequency law] does not contain an exception for such employees. While nothing in that Section exempts or specifically addresses the frequency with which camp counselors at summer camps are required to be paid, please be advised that employees . . . must be paid in accordance with their agreed terms of employment, but not less frequently than semi-monthly."
Could this be the case in your state as well? It's entirely possible. Before planning the timing of the coming summer's payroll, consider checking your obligations under your state's pay frequency law. You may be surprised to find that your counselors must be paid throughout the summer, rather than just once at the end.