September 14, 2023 New York State Pay Transparency Law
KEEPING YOU INFORMED…
We are writing to advise you that New York State’s new “Pay Transparency Law” (Labor Law § 194-b) will take effect on September 17, 2023. This new law contains requirements for job postings, including that they must state a wage/salary range and job description for the advertised position.
The Pay Transparency Law applies to all private sector employers in New York with four or more employees and covers all corporations, LLCs, private individuals who employ other persons, associations, labor organizations, and other entities seeking paid employees. It also covers employment agents, recruiters, and other services that connect job candidates with potential employers. The only entities that are expressly exempted from coverage are “temporary help firms.”[1]
At this time, it appears that the law does not apply to public sector employers, but we will keep you apprised if the Commissioner of Labor issues any regulations or interpretations indicating that public sector employers must also comply.
All job postings for the covered entities listed above must include: (1) a job description for the position, if a job description exists; and (2) the minimum and maximum wage or salary that the employer, in good faith, believes to be applicable to the position at the time the job posting is advertised. The Pay Transparency Law applies to all job postings advertised to pools of potential applicants, whether electronically or in print. The required information must be included on all job postings for new hire positions, as well as postings for internal promotional or transfer positions. Postings for positions that will be fully or partially located outside of New York State must also include this information where the position will report to a supervisor or office located inside the State.
The Pay Transparency Law does not set any requirements for the minimum or maximum limits of the advertised wage or salary. The range may be set at each employer’s discretion and may cover as narrow or expansive a compensation range as the employer believes is appropriate for the position. Note, however, that positions covered by a collective bargaining agreement with a labor union must adhere to the wage or salary steps applicable to that particular position. No minimum or maximum compensation numbers are needed if a position will be paid solely through commission, but the job posting must notify applicants that all earnings will be commission-based.
The law does not specify the types of information that must be contained within the required “job description” section of a job posting. Additional requirements may be issued by the Commissioner of Labor at a later date. At present, if a written job description exists for a particular position, a concise summary of the essential elements of the job should be included within any job posting. The law does not specify whether providing a link in the job posting to the full job description for the position is sufficient, nor does the law expressly prohibit an employer from doing so.
Any employer found guilty of violating the Pay Transparency Law may be liable for a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for a first violation and up to $3,000 for repeated violations.
If you have any questions regarding these new requirements or how to implement them, please contact Bryan Georgiady, Sharon Berlin, Alyssa Zuckerman or one of our other attorneys at 631-694-2300.
THIS MEMORANDUM IS MEANT TO ASSIST IN GENERAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE CURRENT LAW. IT IS NOT TO BE REGARDED AS LEGAL ADVICE. THOSE WITH PARTICULAR QUESTIONS SHOULD SEEK THE ADVICE OF COUNSEL.
[1] A “temporary help firm” is a business which recruits and hires its own employees, then assigns those employees to perform work or services for other organizations, to supplement another organization’s work force, or to provide temporary staffing support to another organization in response to employee absences, skill shortages, busy seasons, etc. (see Labor Law § 916[5]).
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