Effective November 1, 2022, New York City’s pay transparency law will require most employers to disclose salary ranges in their job postings.
As we previously reported, under the new law, employers will be required to include the minimum and maximum salary for a position in any advertisement for a job, internal promotion or a job transfer opportunity that would be performed in New York City. The minimum and maximum salary for the position must reflect the range that the employer believes in good faith it would pay for the role at the time of the posting. Guidance issued by the NYC Commission on Human Rights clarifies that “salary” means the base annual or hourly wage or rate of pay and need not include any other forms of compensation or benefits offered with the advertised job, such as commissions, bonuses, or overtime pay. Further, if the employer has no flexibility in the salary they are offering, they may post a salary where the minimum and maximum salary are identical, for example, “$20 per hour,” but cannot leave the salary range open-ended, such as “$15 per hour and up” or “maximum $50,000 per year.”
The new law amends the New York City Human Rights Law and applies to employers that engaged the services of four or more individuals in the previous year, provided that at least one of the individuals worked in New York City. Failure to include the salary range for a position in any covered advertisement constitutes a discriminatory practice that may result in monetary damages to affected employees and civil penalties for uncured violations.
New York City follows a growing trend among states that are pushing for pay transparency in job advertisements. A statewide bill proposing similar pay transparency requirements was passed by the New York State Legislature in June 2022; while currently under consideration by Governor Hochul, if enacted, it will take effect 270 days after it is signed into law. Meanwhile, California, Connecticut and Colorado each have already enacted laws related to mandatory salary or wage disclosures.
Employers should review their job postings and prepare to come into compliance by November 1, 2022.
