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Pay Transparency is getting a big win in the Big Apple.
As of April 2022, employers will be required to include salary ranges in job postings.
Starting this spring, it will be illegal for NYC employers to advertise a job, promotion, or transfer without including the salary range.
Between the Great Resignation and the pandemic, employers have seen a record number of workers exiting, causing a huge amount of turnover.
Companies have been struggling more than ever to attract and retain employees—and pay transparency may be just what’s required to recruit in today’s workforce.
What is pay transparency, and why does it matter?
Pay transparency is the process of discussing employee compensation in hiring and retaining employees. It is important because it increases diversity, equity and inclusion, and levels the playing field for employees.
Pay transparency is hugely important for groups like women and people of color that are consistently paid less. Historically, talking about pay has been largely taboo, which has further put minorities at a disadvantage while allowing companies to have large discrepancies in pay.
But pay transparency has the potential to solve these persistent issues.
A study by PayScale found that women earn $0.80 for every $1 a male earns. Although that may not sound like much, over 40 years that $0.20 represents a loss of $406,760. But, in organizations where women feel that pay is transparent, they earn equal to what men earn.
The gap for people of color is even more concerning.
Black men earn $0.87, and Hispanic employees earn $0.91 for every $1 white men earn. Black women earn only $0.63 for every $1 by white men. Over a career, that pay disparity represents nearly one million dollars—a life-changing amount of money.
That’s why pay transparency, which has the potential to remove pay gaps, could have a massive impact on the economy and individuals’ earning potential.
Why did New York City pass pay transparency legislation?
The new legislation in New York is a result of an NYC Council bill that passed last year, with 41 to 7 council members in favor.
Manhattan Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal said that this bill was “long overdue.”
“It is long overdue that New York City address the cause of significant inequity in the local hiring process: employers’ refusal to disclose a position’s salary… Forcing employers to disclose salary ranges for available positions will also help us to more readily identify systemic pay inequities.”
Employers in New York City have been able to withhold salary information until the very end of the hiring process but withholding information from candidates puts them at a disadvantage in negotiations.
Where does the New York law apply?
The New York pay transparency law will require all New York employers to post the minimum and maximum salaries for every posted role. The new law will be enforced for any employers with more than four employees, across all sectors (private and public).
New York’s New Pay Transparency law applies not only to external positions, but also to internal transfer opportunities and promotions. However, it’s unclear if it will apply to remote positions, or just positions based in New York City.
The law will be enforced starting May 15th, 2022, but it’s uncertain if job postings made prior to that date will be held to the same legal standard. (This is unlikely.) However, employers who do not comply once the law is in effect could be fined up to $125,000.
That’s why it’s best practice to start implementing pay transparency now.
Furthermore, even though this particular law only applies to New York City, we anticipate seeing similar laws enacted across the country, and internationally. In fact, several states already have pay transparency laws.
What states have pay transparency laws?
New York City is not the first to enforce pay transparency.
Although the exact requirements vary, and not every state requires employers to post salary ranges, there are over twenty states with pay transparency laws. California was the first in 2018 to require pay scales in external applications, but only after a candidate’s first interview.
Nearly two dozen U.S. states have pay transparency laws, or laws relating to it.
These states include:
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Illinois
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
However, we expect that this trend will continue. Several other states are currently looking to adopt similar pay transparency laws, and even the European Union is considering pay regulation.
Inc. called 2022 the “Year of Pay Transparency.” LinkedIn named it one of the big ideas that will change the world in 2022. Inc also said that companies who implement pay transparency will “have an easier time finding and retaining workers amid the Great Resignation and through the rest of the year.”
As more and more companies offer salary information up front, your company should start now before they get left behind.
Automate your HR workflows
Admittedly, this bill may change the hiring process and negotiations for HR professionals. But, with tools like Pequity, you can make smarter compensation decisions to plan, communicate, and benchmark compensations and total rewards for current and potential employees.
If you’d like to see how Pequity works, book a demo today to see how you can automate your HR workflows.