[New York] City Council members move to postpone salary disclosure law

In New York City, weeks before a new law requiring most employers to post salary ranges in recruitment ads comes into effect, City Council members are moving to postpone it and make revisions that the proponents warn would “gut” its aim to promote equal pay, The City reports.

Business leaders say the changes, which had a public hearing on April 5, are the least the Council can do to avoid what they warn could be unintended effects.

The salary transparency law gained the approval of 41 of 51 members in the final days of the Council’s last term. It mandates that businesses with five or more employees post a “good faith” minimum and maximum salary in advertisements for job vacancies.

The measure was intended to advance pay equity, in part by giving job-seekers an advantage in wage negotiations, while encouraging transparency from employers.

In New York City, white women earn 84 cents on average for every dollar earned by white men, according to a December 2021 committee report by the City Council. The figures drop to 63 cents per dollar for Asian women, 55 cents for African American women and 46 cents for Latina women.

The new amendments - sponsored by council members Nantasha Williams (D-Queens) and Justin Brannan (D-Brooklyn) - would reportedly exclude businesses with fewer than 15 employees, allow for job ads that don’t specify a position to exclude salary info and exempt remote positions that can be carried out outside New York City.

The bill would also delay implementation, which is being overseen by the city’s Human Rights Commission, from May 15 to November 1. The commission has already released guidance.

Advocates for pay equity, supportive of the new law, say the changes would create massive carve-outs under the guise of making minor adjustments, excluding tens of thousands of businesses.

“The amendments being proposed really gut the law; the intent and the impact and the scope of the law,” Beverly Neufeld - president of the advocacy group PowHer New York, which promotes women’s economic equality - said. “Turning our back on this — it’s really not what we expect of our progressive, majority-female City Council.”

Business Concerns

Business leaders say the pay transparency law posed a host of problems that were never fully aired because the bill was rushed from a public hearing to vote over a two-week period in December 2021.

It became law automatically after 30 days without the signature of outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio or incoming Mayor Eric Adams.

Kathryn Wylde - president of the business group Partnership for New York City - said small businesses don’t often have established pay bands and instead offer what they can afford based on an applicant’s range of skills and experience.

She said larger businesses risk getting out-bid by competitors if they make their salary ceilings public and said the public postings could also spark salary inflation during a hiring crunch when current workers see a maximum posted that is much higher than it has been historically.

“We all agree that pay parity is a good thing,” Ms Wylde - whose organisation represents about 300 company leaders - said. “Implementation is difficult; so we’re hoping that the new Council will feel they can be a little more thoughtful about responding to some of the concerns.”

States on pay transparency

In 2018, California enacted a pay transparency law requiring companies to provide salary information but only upon request from a job applicant.

In recent times, states have passed laws that require a more proactive release of salary information, although not necessarily for public dissemination.

Colorado enacted a law in 2021 that, like New York City’s, requires salary ranges to be posted in job listings.

New York City has already taken steps toward rolling out the new law. In March, the city Human Rights Commission published guidance on which city businesses and nonprofits are covered by the new law and how they need to implement it.

The notice warns that fines can reach $125,000, while willful violations can be punished with fines of up to $250,000.

Regarding the proposed changes to the city’s law, advocates say the exclusion of companies with five to 14 workers alone would exempt roughly 50,000 employers.

They are also concerned that an exemption for adverts that don’t specify which position is being hired for would create a huge loophole for firms trying to evade the new requirements.

“While the amendments are being sold as innocuous tweaks, when you read them closely they would essentially undo much of [the new law],” Seher Khawaja - senior counsel for Legal Momentum, a national advocacy group for girls and women - said. “We think it would really undermine the impact of the law by excluding a large sector of New York’s workforce from the protections.”

Source: The City

(Links and quotes via original reporting)

In New York City, weeks before a new law requiring most employers to post salary ranges in recruitment ads comes into effect, City Council members are moving to postpone it and make revisions that the proponents warn would “gut” its aim to promote equal pay, The City reports.

Business leaders say the changes, which had a public hearing on April 5, are the least the Council can do to avoid what they warn could be unintended effects.

The salary transparency law gained the approval of 41 of 51 members in the final days of the Council’s last term. It mandates that businesses with five or more employees post a “good faith” minimum and maximum salary in advertisements for job vacancies.

The measure was intended to advance pay equity, in part by giving job-seekers an advantage in wage negotiations, while encouraging transparency from employers.

In New York City, white women earn 84 cents on average for every dollar earned by white men, according to a December 2021 committee report by the City Council. The figures drop to 63 cents per dollar for Asian women, 55 cents for African American women and 46 cents for Latina women.

The new amendments - sponsored by council members Nantasha Williams (D-Queens) and Justin Brannan (D-Brooklyn) - would reportedly exclude businesses with fewer than 15 employees, allow for job ads that don’t specify a position to exclude salary info and exempt remote positions that can be carried out outside New York City.

The bill would also delay implementation, which is being overseen by the city’s Human Rights Commission, from May 15 to November 1. The commission has already released guidance.

Advocates for pay equity, supportive of the new law, say the changes would create massive carve-outs under the guise of making minor adjustments, excluding tens of thousands of businesses.

“The amendments being proposed really gut the law; the intent and the impact and the scope of the law,” Beverly Neufeld - president of the advocacy group PowHer New York, which promotes women’s economic equality - said. “Turning our back on this — it’s really not what we expect of our progressive, majority-female City Council.”

Business Concerns

Business leaders say the pay transparency law posed a host of problems that were never fully aired because the bill was rushed from a public hearing to vote over a two-week period in December 2021.

It became law automatically after 30 days without the signature of outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio or incoming Mayor Eric Adams.

Kathryn Wylde - president of the business group Partnership for New York City - said small businesses don’t often have established pay bands and instead offer what they can afford based on an applicant’s range of skills and experience.

She said larger businesses risk getting out-bid by competitors if they make their salary ceilings public and said the public postings could also spark salary inflation during a hiring crunch when current workers see a maximum posted that is much higher than it has been historically.

“We all agree that pay parity is a good thing,” Ms Wylde - whose organisation represents about 300 company leaders - said. “Implementation is difficult; so we’re hoping that the new Council will feel they can be a little more thoughtful about responding to some of the concerns.”

States on pay transparency

In 2018, California enacted a pay transparency law requiring companies to provide salary information but only upon request from a job applicant.

In recent times, states have passed laws that require a more proactive release of salary information, although not necessarily for public dissemination.

Colorado enacted a law in 2021 that, like New York City’s, requires salary ranges to be posted in job listings.

New York City has already taken steps toward rolling out the new law. In March, the city Human Rights Commission published guidance on which city businesses and nonprofits are covered by the new law and how they need to implement it.

The notice warns that fines can reach $125,000, while willful violations can be punished with fines of up to $250,000.

Regarding the proposed changes to the city’s law, advocates say the exclusion of companies with five to 14 workers alone would exempt roughly 50,000 employers.

They are also concerned that an exemption for adverts that don’t specify which position is being hired for would create a huge loophole for firms trying to evade the new requirements.

“While the amendments are being sold as innocuous tweaks, when you read them closely they would essentially undo much of [the new law],” Seher Khawaja - senior counsel for Legal Momentum, a national advocacy group for girls and women - said. “We think it would really undermine the impact of the law by excluding a large sector of New York’s workforce from the protections.”

Source: The City

(Links and quotes via original reporting)