Reminder: New York City's Salary Transparency Law Takes Effect November 1, 2022
Pay transparency has often been an option for many employers, however, it will be mandatory for New York City employers to disclose salary information effective November 1st, 2022. This law will combat deep-rooted salary biases and create transparency for job seekers.
Effective Date: November 1st, 2022
Starting Nov. 1, NYC employers will be required to post the maximum and minimum salary ranges for a role, to inform potential candidates of how much a job pays prior to moving forward in the recruitment process. Employers' advertising jobs in NYC must include good faith salary ranges for every job, promotion, and transfer opportunity advertised.
Background:
The act amended the New York City Human Right Law (NYCHRL) obligating employers to advertise salary ranges for any positions in New York City. On May 12th, Mayor Eric Adams signed the amended law. The law, enacted on January 15, 2022, was initially expected to go into effect on May 15, 2022. The Council has since voted to delay the effective date until November 1, 2022, to provide employers with more time to prepare to comply.
Who it applies to:
All employers with four or more employees (regardless of their location, so long as the employer has at least one (1) employee working in New York City) or one or more domestic workers. Note: owners and individual employers count towards the four employees;
Employment agencies must ensure that any job listing complies with the new salary transparency requirements;
Exception: temporary help firms or businesses that recruit, hire, and assign their employees to perform work or services for other organizations, to support or supplement the other organization's workforce, or to help in special work situations. The new law does not apply to temporary help firms seeking applicants to join their pool of available workers. However, employers who work with temp help firms must follow the new salary transparency law.
Which jobs are covered under the law?
The new law covers any advertisement for a job, promotion, or transfer opportunity to be performed in New York City. Covered listings include, but are not limited to:
postings on internal bulletin boards,
internet advertisements,
printed flyers distributed at job fairs,
newspaper advertisements.
The law does not prohibit employers from hiring without advertising and does not require employers to create an advertisement in order to hire.
Covered employers must follow the new law when advertising for positions that can or will be performed, in whole or in part, in NYC, whether from an office, in the field, or remotely from the employee's home. Since the NYCHRL protections extend to many groups of workers, advertised postings that seek the following types of workers must follow the law:
full- or part-time employees,
interns,
domestic workers,
independent contractors, or
all categories of workers protected by the NYCHRL.
What information should be included in job ads?
Employers must state the minimum and maximum (cannot be open-ended) salary they are willing to pay for the advertised job, promotion, or transfer opportunity.
o “$15 per hour and up” or “maximum $50,000 per year” would not be consistent with the new requirements. If an employer has no flexibility in the salary they are offering, the minimum and maximum salary may be identical, for example, “$20 per hour.”
Advertisements covering multiple jobs, promotions, or transfer opportunities can include salary ranges specific to each opportunity that is being offered.
Salary includes the base wage or rate of pay, regardless of payment frequency.
Salary does not include other forms of compensation or benefits offered in connection with the job/promotion/transfer:
o E.g., benefits (Medical/Dental/Vision), PTO, retirement funds, severance, overtime, commission/tips/bonuses/stock
How will this law be enforced?
Employers and employment agencies who are found to have violated the NYCHRL may have to pay monetary damages to affected employees and civil penalties of up to $250,000. Covered entities may also be required to amend advertisements and postings, create or update policies, conduct training, provide notices of rights to employees or applicants, and engage in other forms of affirmative relief.
A person would not be able to bring a lawsuit against an employer based on this law unless that individual is a current employee who is bringing an action against their employer for advertising a job, promotion, or transfer without posting a minimum and maximum hourly wage or annual salary. This bill would also clarify that the penalty for the first violation of this law would be $0, and employers would have 30 days to correct the violation.
Next Steps and Takeaways
Continue to monitor for further guidance from the Commission and update accordingly. In the meantime, assuming the mayor’s impending signature, employers should come into compliance as the core part of the law remains intact.
Review the Commission’s guidance on compensation information what should be included in job postings.
Employers operating outside of NYC should note if any similar state laws apply to them.
Employers who are willing to fill a role with an individual working in different jurisdictions should be mindful of adhering to different state salary/transparency laws.
Employers should be prepared to comply with the amended NYC Transparency Law by November 1st, 2022.
Employers have 6 months to ensure their job postings are compliant with the NYC Salary Transparency Law. It would be beneficial to start preparing now by compiling documentation about wage ranges for each position using existing data or applying benchmark data to assess a wage range for positions. The Commission’s fact sheet is a resource for guidance, however they are expected to publish further guidance prior to the law taking effect.
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