New York has enacted legislation (Assembly Bill 999) that amends employer salary transparency requirements. The originally enacted Sept. 17, 2023, effective date remains unchanged by the amendment.
The details
New York previously enacted legislation (Senate Bill 9427A), which requires employers with four or more employees to disclose compensation or the range of compensation to applicants and employees, starting Sept. 17, 2023.
On March 3, 2023, New York enacted an amendment (Assembly Bill 999) which modifies the applicability of the law, clarifies what constitutes an “advertisement” and lessens an employer’s record keeping requirements.
Applicability of the law
Originally, the law applied its advertisement requirements to cover position that “can or will be performed” in the state of New York” The amendment modifies the obligation to cover advertisements for positions that “will be physically performed, at least part” in New York as well as those “that will physically be performed outside of New York but report to a supervisor, office, or other work site in New York.”
In short, advertisements for the following positions will now be covered by the law as amended:
· Those that will be physically performed in New York, even if only in part. This could include for example hybrid remote workers that are required to periodically report in person in New York; and
· Those that will be physically performed outside of New York, but report to a supervisor, office or other worksite in New York.
Employers operating in other jurisdictions in New York with pay transparency laws may need to coordinate compliance with the state law and should consider consulting legal counsel to help determine which laws apply to their business. For example, the New York City law expressly excludes “positions that cannot or will not be performed, at least in part, in the city of New York.”
Job advertisements
The law did not previously define job “advertisement.” Assembly Bill 999 defines advertisement as making a written description of an employment opportunity available to a pool of potential applicants for internal or public viewing, including electronically.
Recordkeeping requirements
The law previously required employers to retain records of historical compensation ranges and job descriptions. Assembly Bill 999 removes this requirement. While no longer required, employers may want to retain such records to help explain previous compensation decisions if needed.
Next steps
New York employers should:
- Review their hiring policies and procedures and train managers and personnel involved in the recruitment process on the changes under Assembly Bill 999.
- Post salary ranges and other requirements on internal and external job postings.
- Although not required, consider retaining records of compensation ranges and job descriptions.
Please contact your ADP Service Representative with any questions.