Although the New York State legislature passed S9427A/A10477 last summer, Governor Hochul did not sign the bill until December 12, 2022. While it was anticipated that Governor Hochul would amend provisions of the bill to exclude small businesses from the new requirements, she signed New York State’s new pay transparency law as it was passed by the state legislature.
Beginning September 17, 2023, New York state will join Colorado, California, Washington, and several cities, including New York City, in requiring employers to post salary ranges in all job postings.
What exactly will New York state require? We’ve broken it all down for you:
Who must comply?
- Similar to NYC’s pay transparency ordinance, employers who have at least four employees, with at least one employee working in the state of New York, must comply.
What if I’m posting for general remote roles that can be performed anywhere?
- Covered employers will be required to comply if the job “can or will be performed, at least in part, in the state of New York.”
When must employers post salary ranges?
- Salary ranges must be included on job postings for roles, promotions, or transfers when those opportunities are initially posted anywhere. This requirement takes effect September 17, 2023.
What information must employers include in job postings?
- The minimum and the maximum annual salary or hourly wage that the employer “in good faith believe[s]” that they will pay at the time of posting (sound familiar?)
- Employers must also disclose the applicable job description, if one exists (this is different from NYC’s ordinance).
What about commission-based roles?
- Any posting for a commission-based role must contain a general statement that compensation would be based solely or in part on commission.
Will New York State impose penalties on employers who don’t post salary ranges?
- Employees can file complaints with the NY State Department of Labor.
- Violations can result in civil fines of $1,000 for the first, $2,000 for the second, $3,000 for the third violation, etc.
- The new law also prohibits employers from retaliating against employees or applicants who ask for a posted position’s salary range.
Is there anything else we should know?
- The new law also requires any covered employer to keep records of compliance with this new law, including a history of compensation ranges, job postings, and job descriptions (if they exist).
- It is unclear how long employers will have to keep these records, but stay tuned!
What’s next?
Join us on January 26, 2023, for Episode 5 of our Pay Transparency Legislation Series: “Preparing for the New Year”, where we will talk about how to prepare for the emerging pay transparency legislation in 2023. We will also discuss the new New York state pay transparency legislation specifically.
To stay up –to –date on the latest pay transparency legislation in the United States, check out our legislation landing page.
