Listen to this post

On December 15, 2021, the New York City Council approved a bill that will require NYC employers with four or more employees to disclose in job postings – including those for promotion or transfer opportunities – the minimum and maximum salary offered for any position located within New York City. The Mayor has until January 14, 2022 (30 days) to approve or veto the bill. Alternatively, the bill will also go into effect if the Mayor does not affirmatively approve or deny the bill by January 14, 2022.

If the bill becomes law, it will:

  • Make it an unlawful discriminatory practice to not include in job listings the minimum and maximum salary offered for any position located within New York City.
  • Require employers to provide the minimum and maximum salary for any position located within New York City. Notably, the bill provides that this range may extend from the lowest to the highest salary that the employer in good faith believes at the time of the posting it would pay for the advertised job, promotion or transfer opportunity.
  • The bill will take effect 120 days after it becomes law.

The NYC Commission on Human Rights will be authorized to promulgate rules to implement the new bill. We will continue to monitor and report on developments.

Proliferation of Pay Transparency Laws

With the increased focus on equal pay for equal work, there is a nationwide trend of legislation imposing pay transparency requirements on employers. (We first reported on this trend last year.) These laws can include wage range disclosure obligations and can vary greatly in terms of where, when, how and to whom required disclosures must be made. Here are several notable laws to know:

  • California: requires employers to provide job applicants with the salary or hourly wage ranges for positions upon the applicant’s reasonable request, provided the applicant has completed an initial interview with the employer. (Effective January 1, 2018)
  • Colorado: requires employers disclose the pay, or pay range, of a position in the job posting itself. (Effective January 1, 2021)
  • Connecticut: requires disclosure of wage ranges even if the applicant or employee has not expressly requested such information. Specifically, Connecticut employers must provide prospective employees with wage range information before or at the time an offer of compensation is made, or at the applicant’s request, whichever occurs first, and must also provide employees with wage range information upon hire, upon a change in the employee’s position, or upon the employee’s first request for such information. (Effective October 1, 2021)
  • Maryland: requires that employers provide a job applicant with the wage range for the position for which the applicant applied upon request. (Effective October 1, 2020)
  • Rhode Island: requires an employer to provide a wage range for job positions. Upon an applicant’s request, an employer must provide the wage range for the open position. (Effective January 1, 2023)
  • Washington: requires employers provide the wage scale or salary range for the position upon a job applicant or employee’s request, provided the request is made after an initial offer of employment. (Effective July 28, 2019)