New York City’s Pay Transparency Law – Say what you Pay or Else!
In December 2021, the New York City Council voted to amend New York City Human Rights Law to include a requirement that employers in New York City be required to disclose minimum and maximum salaries for all advertised jobs, promotions, or transfer opportunities. The law was created to attempt to address discrepancies in wages for woman and minority employees who have historically been paid less. It is estimated that more than 200,000 businesses will be affected by the soon to be implemented law. In 2019, the median earnings for a man In New York State who was working full-time was $60,183 compared to the median income for woman in New York of $51,922. In 2021, a Study of the salaries of New York City Municipal employees found that the median salary for white employees was $27,800 higher than for black employees, and $22,200 higher than for Latinos. According to New York City’s new law, all employers with four or more employees, those who are hourly wages earners workers who are on annual salaries must state pay in job advertisements. This law also applies to positions physically performed in New York City as well as those jobs performed remotely. In the most recent iteration, the law was amended to limit employer’s exposure to legal action, outside of any private rights that the law may provide to applicants or candidates from the general public under New York City Human Rights Law. Current employees, however, do have the right to bring a civil action against the employer for alleged failure to comply with the law’s requirements for jobs, transfer opportunities and promotions. Applicants and non-employees do not have that right of action but may report violations to the commission.
While the implementation of the law has been pushed to November 1st of this year, the upcoming implementation requires careful consideration by payroll and H.R. departments to ensure full compliance and avoid any potential violations or impending litigation. Strict compliance is the key to ensuring that your business continues to run smoothly and without any impending violations or complaints.
If you or your H.R. department have any questions concerning the implementation of this new law and the effects that this has on hiring and other workplace issues, please do not hesitate to call us at 516-888-1208 or email Cynthia Augello at [email protected]
Thank you to Joel Thomas, JD for his assistance with this post.