The New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYCCHR) has released additional guidance on its pay transparency law, which takes effect on May 15, 2022.
The Details
NYCCHR has released a fact sheet that clarifies several aspects of its pay transparency law.
Covered Employers
The law covers employment agencies, employers with four or more employees (which counts owners and individual employers), and employers with one or more domestic workers. The workplace is covered if at least one of the four employees works in New York City. The law also applies to employers that work with temporary help firms, but it excludes temporary help firms that hire employees to perform work for other businesses.
Covered Job Listings
The law covers any advertisement for an available job, promotion or transfer opportunity performed at least in part in New York City. An “advertisement” is defined as a written description, regardless of the medium, publicized to a pool of potential applicants. This includes a posting on an internal bulletin board, internet advertisement, printed flyer at a job fair, and a newspaper advertisement.
The law applies to advertisements for independent contractors, full-time and part-time employees, interns, domestic workers, and any other category of worker protected by the NYC Human Rights Law. Employers may hire without using an advertisement and are not required to create an advertisement to hire.
Salary Range Requirements
Employers must include the minimum and maximum salary that they in good faith are willing to pay for an advertised job, promotion or transfer. This means the salary range they honestly believe at the time of the posting that they are willing to pay the successful applicant(s). Job ads that cover multiple opportunities can include salary ranges specific to each opportunity.
The guidance specifies that the range must include the base wage or rate of pay, regardless of the frequency of payment. For example, employers may list a dollar amount per hour or a dollar amount per year. However, the range cannot be open-ended, such as $15 per hour and up or a maximum of $50,000 per year. However, if there is no flexibility in salary, the minimum and maximum salary may be the same.
Employers may also include, but are not required to disclose, other forms of compensation and benefits such as:
- Health, life, or other employer-provided insurance;
- Time off work, such as paid sick or vacation days, leaves of absence, or sabbaticals;
- Retirement benefits, such as 401(k)s or employer-funded pension plans; or
- Severance, overtime pay, commissions, tips, bonuses, stock, the value of employer-provided meals or lodging, or other perks in pay.
Enforcement
Covered employers that are found to have violated the law may face penalties of up to $250,000. They may also be required, among other things, to amend their job ads and postings, create or update policies, conduct training, and provide notices of rights to employees or applicants.
Next Steps:
New York City employers should review their job advertisements to help ensure compliance with the new guidance.