NYS Enacts Amendment to Pay Transparency Law
As we previously reported, New York State enacted a pay transparency law requiring employers to include in each job advertisement the range of compensation for the role and a job description for the role, if such description exists. The law goes into effect on September 17, 2023. Recently, New York State enacted amendments to the law that both expand and narrow the geographic scope of the law.
Under the original law, the disclosure requirements applied to advertisements for positions that can or will be performed, at least in part, in New York State. However, following the amendment, the disclosure requirements now apply to positions that “will physically be performed, at least in part, in the state of New York, including a job, promotion, or transfer opportunity that will be physically performed outside of New York but reports to a supervisor, office, or other work site in New York.” The elimination of “can . . . be performed” arguably limits the scope of the state law; however, other local legislation (e.g., NYC and Westchester) still utilize this broader language so the limitation does not change the scope of which postings are covered under the NYC and Westchester laws. Additionally, the amendment did not include specifics regarding what it means for a position to report to a supervisor, office, or other work site in New York, so it remains to be seen how broadly this language will be interpreted.
The amendment also removed the requirement that employers keep and maintain records of compliance with the law, including the history of compensation ranges for each role and the job descriptions, if such descriptions exist. However, employers may still strongly consider maintaining such records so they can demonstrate compliance with the state and local pay transparency laws if faced with a claim.
If you have any questions about updating your job postings or procedures to comply with the New York State law, and similar New York City and Westchester laws that went into effect in last year, please contact Amanda M. Baker at abaker@fglawllc.com, or any attorney at the firm.
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