New York City Salary Range Transparency Law Takes Effect November 1

This is a reminder that the New York City Salary Range Transparency Law, originally scheduled to go into effect on May 15, 2022, will become effective on November 1, 2022.

By way of background, the new law amends the New York City Human Rights Law to require covered employers (those with 4 or more employees) who post a job, promotion, or transfer opportunity for a position that can or will be performed, at least in part, in New York City to disclose the minimum and maximum annual salary or hourly wage that the employer in good faith believes it would pay for the position.

What this Means for Employers

In preparation, it is recommended NYC employers review job descriptions for the jobs that will be advertised and include a good faith salary range with the position’s description.

Employers will need to include a salary range for any positions you anticipate advertising (or continuing to advertise) after November 1, for all covered job listings under the new law. Covered job listings are defined broadly to include any advertisement that includes a “written description of an available job, promotion, or transfer opportunity that is publicized to a pool of potential applicants” (which may include existing employees) and includes advertisements “on internal bulletin boards, internet advertisements, printed flyers distributed at job fairs, and newspaper advertisements.”

While not a technical requirement, you also may wish to consider internally documenting the factors used to determine the salary range for a given position and/or provide information in the job posting itself about the factors that may impact what salary within the stated range may be offered to any particular candidate (e.g., years of experience, level of education obtained, etc.).

Please note that under the new law, salary includes only the base annual or hourly wage or rate of pay and does not include other forms of compensation or benefits offered in connection with the advertised position. Thus, an advertisement does not have to include health insurance, time off, severance pay, overtime pay, commissions, tips, bonuses, stock, or 401(k) plans.

New York State

On June 3, 2022, the New York State Legislature passed a similar bill that would require private-sector employers to disclose the range of compensation in all advertisements for jobs, including remote positions, that can or will be performed, at least in part, in New York State. Employers will also be required to maintain all necessary records, including the history of compensation ranges and job description for each job, to comply with the new law. The New York State law is expected to take effect in March 2023, 270 days after it was passed, as long as it is not vetoed by the Governor.

California

California also has passed a wage transparency law scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2023. Employers with 15 or more employees will need to include salary ranges on job postings, among other requirements. It is anticipated that California will issue updated guidance in the coming months on complying with the new law.

Gibney will continue to monitor the salary transparency trend for guidance updates. For employment-related questions, please contact Robert J. Tracy.