New York City’s pay transparency law will require most employers to disclose salary ranges in job postings beginning November 1, 2022.
As previously reported, the new law requires employers to include the minimum and maximum salary for a position in any advertisement for a job, internal promotion, or job transfer opportunity in New York City. The position’s minimum and maximum salary must reflect the range that the employer believes it would pay for the role at the time of posting.
The NYC Commission on Human Rights clarifies that “salary” refers to the base annual or hourly wage or rate of pay and does not include any other forms of compensation or benefits offered in conjunction with the advertised job, such as commissions, bonuses, or overtime pay.
Furthermore, if the employer has no salary flexibility, they may post a salary where the minimum and maximum salary are the same, such as “$20 per hour,” but they 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 who employed four or more people in the previous year, provided that at least one of them worked in New York City.
Failure to include a salary range for a position in any covered advertisement is a discriminatory practice that can result in monetary damages for affected employees and civil penalties for uncured violations.
New York City is part of a growing trend of states pushing for pay transparency in job advertisements. The New York State Legislature passed a statewide bill proposing similar pay transparency requirements in June 2022; while it is 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 have all passed legislation requiring mandatory salary or wage disclosures.
Employers should review their job postings and plan to comply by November 1, 2022.
