New York City has adopted a new law requiring employers to publicly disclose salary information when advertising a job, promotion or transfer opportunity. The law, which is part of the ongoing effort to close the racial and gender wage gap, takes effect on May 15, 2022 and accelerates the trend towards pay transparency.
New York City’s disclosure law applies to employers with at least four workers (including independent contractors). Temporary staffing firms are exempt because they are already required to provide salary information after interviews under the New York State Wage Theft Prevention Act.
The New York City law is notably broader than disclosure laws in other jurisdictions because it requires all job listings to include the minimum and maximum salary information. In contrast, most other jurisdictions that have enacted pay transparency laws require disclosure in response to an inquiry or later in the job hiring process (e.g., after the interview, when the offer is made, etc.). Notably, New Jersey is not yet among the states with a pay transparency requirement during the hiring process.
The impact of the new law on out-of-state employers advertising for NYC employees, and conversely, on NYC employers with staff working remotely outside of NYC, remains unclear. The law also leaves open whether the “salary” disclosure requirement applies to bonuses, commissions and other forms of compensation, as well as whether employees are entitled to salary information for every position within their field (for example, an employee applying for an entry-level position might seek salary information for senior and management roles). Guidance from the New York City Commission on Human Rights is expected soon.
To be prepared, NYC employers should set salary ranges for all existing positions and be ready to revise job postings upon implementation of the law. In addition, any salary information in other HR documents (e.g., job descriptions and compensation policies) should be reviewed to ensure that they are consistent with the salary information in job postings.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions or need guidance in addressing this new law.
PartnerMarianne Tolomeo, a partner in Connell Foley LLP’s Labor and Employment Group, practices primarily in the areas of employment law and commercial litigation.
For more than two decades, Marianne has represented clients ranging ...