Legal News

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Effective March 15, 2022, New York City will start requiring employers to provide salary ranges for all job postings in an attempt to achieve transparency and gender equality in the job hiring process; however, the many ambiguities to this law, which leaves implementaion and compliance with this law somewhat difficult at the outset.

SALARY RANGES FOR ALL JOB POSTINGS REQUIRED

Under this new gender equity law, NYC employers with more than four (4) employees will have to state, in “good faith”, the salary ranges by “minimum to maximum” for all future “job listings, internal promotions, or job transfer opportunities” “at the time of posting” the job opportunity. 

Accordingly, the New York City Commission on Human Rights (“NYCHR”) is charged with taking action to implement the law, including, among other things, through the promulgation of rules and/or imposition of civil penalties under the NYCHRL. Needless to say, the ramifications of such a law being vaguely defined are immense.

LINGERING QUESTIONS

Until the NYCHR provides more clarity, questions, such as whether the law will only apply to employers that employ four (4) or more NYC employees or simply four (4) or more employees, in general, remain unanswered, adding to the anxiety caused by the law’s passage. Just to name a few, questions still remain as to:

1. Whether salary ranges must be accurate;
2. Whether there will be an objective standard to determine whether an employer is acting in good faith;
3. Whether “job promotions” will be better defined;
4. Whether employees will be able to sue employers for violating the law;
5. The geographical or territorial reach of the law.  Whether it applies to employees who will not work, live, or interview physically within the City of New York, but are being hired by NYC-based firms; and
6. Whether the new law will require old job postings to be updated once in effect.

Even more direct questions remain unanswered, such as to what limitations are placed on salary ranges and whether maximum salary caps could mislead applicants into believing a position pays more than it actually does. There are some exceptions to the new law - in the current form of the bill, temporary employment ads posted by staffing agencies are exempted.  

As the commissioner provides updates regarding the pay transparency law and its enforcement, we will continue to provide guidance regarding how such changes may impact your place of business and/or employment. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us for additional guidance regarding any concerns you may have regarding the passages of the Pay Transparency Law.

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