NYS Employers May Soon be Required to Include Salary Range and Job Description in Job Postings

As employers will recall, earlier this year, New York City enacted a law requiring employers to include the minimum and maximum salary in job postings, effective November 1, 2022. Last week, the New York State Senate passed a bill that, if enacted, would impose similar obligations on New York State employers. The bill is currently awaiting the Governor’s signature.

If enacted, the bill would amend the New York Labor Law and require employers with 4 or more employees to include the following any time the employer advertises a job, promotion, or transfer opportunity: the compensation or a range of compensation for such job, promotion, or transfer opportunity. The bill defines “range of compensation” as the minimum and maximum annual salary or hourly range of compensation for a job, promotion, or transfer opportunity that the employer in good faith believes to be accurate at the time of the posting of an advertisement for such opportunity. For jobs paid solely on commission, employers could comply with the law by stating that compensation shall be based on commission. The law would also require employers to include in all advertisements the job description for the role, if such description exists. This would be a broader obligation than what is currently required by the analogous NYC law.

The new disclosure requirements would only apply to advertisements for positions that can or will be performed, at least in part, in New York State.

If the law is enacted, a person who believed they were subjected to a violation of the law would be permitted to file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner, who would then investigate the complaint and issue a statement setting out the appropriate remedy, including civil penalties. However, the law does not appear to provide a private right of action permitting an individual to bring an action in court for a violation of the law.

The law would also impose new recordkeeping requirements: If the law is enacted, employers will be required to keep and maintain necessary records showing compliance with the law, including but not limited to, the history of compensation ranges for each job, promotion, or transfer opportunity and the job descriptions for such positions, if such description exists. It is unclear from the bill how long such records would need to be maintained by employers.

If the Governor signs the bill, it would go into effect 270 days after her signature.

The law would authorize the Labor Commissioner to promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the law, so if enacted, employers can likely expect additional guidance on compliance procedures.

We will continue to monitor for developments on this legislation. If you have any questions about the pending bill, or compliance with the NYC salary transparency law scheduled to go into effect on November 1st,  please contact Amanda M. Baker at abaker@fglawllc.com, or any attorney at the firm.

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