The New York City Council voted on Thursday night to delay the implementation of a new pay transparency law until Nov. 1, as reported by Gothamist. Once it goes into effect, employers will be required to include salary ranges in job advertisements.
New York City’s salary disclosure law was initially passed last December to close down longstanding gender-and race-based pay gaps. Some businesses argued that the city needed more time to advise about compliance with the law and address unintended consequences. In a virtual hearing earlier this month, small business leaders stated worries like salary inflation and leaving small businesses unable to afford workers.
“This legislation took lots of time … striking a balance to reach agreement between pay equity advocates who championed this bill and the small business community,” said Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, ahead of the bill’s passage Thursday.
All New York City employers with four or more employees or one or more domestic workers must list salary ranges from Nov. 1 onward. The only exemptions would be Temp agencies and specific jobs performed remotely and can’t be performed in New York City. If businesses don’t comply, employers have 30 days to list salary ranges if they’re cited. If they fail to change course, they could face fines of $250,000 for future violations. The law couldn’t come soon enough, given the most recent city-data.
In 2019, the most recent year for which data is available, the median earnings in New York State for men working full-time was $60,813, nearly $9,000 more than the median earnings for women of $51,922. A 2021 study of New York City municipal employees found that the median white employee’s salary was $27,800 higher than a Black employee’s salary and $22,200 higher than a Latino employee’s salary.