Key Takeaways:

• Effective September 18, 2023, employers and employment agencies will be required to list the salary or salary range, and job description, for all advertised jobs, promotions, and transfer opportunities that can be performed in New York State. 
• The new law also requires employers to keep and maintain records concerning the compensation history for each job, promotion, or transfer opportunity, and a job description for such positions if one exists.
• In advance of the effective date, employers should review their hiring and pay practices, as well as their recordkeeping practices, to ensure compliance with the new law.

On December 21, 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a statewide pay transparency measure into law. The new law, which goes into effect on September 18, 2023, requires covered employers and employment agencies to list the salary or salary range, and job description, if one exists, for all advertised jobs, promotions, and transfer opportunities that can be performed, at least in part, in New York State. It also requires covered employers to keep and maintain records concerning the compensation history for each job, promotion, or transfer opportunity, and a job description for such positions if one exists. Employers that fail to comply with these requirements may be subject to civil penalties.

The new law applies broadly to all employers in New York State that employ at least four workers. However, the law excludes from the definition of “employer” temporary help firms that hire their own employees to work for other organizations.

The new law, which is designed to address race- and gender-based pay disparities, follows a similar measure passed in New York City that went into effect in November 2022. That law similarly requires employers and employment agencies to disclose salary ranges when advertising job positions that will be performed at least in part in New York City.

While the law does not go into effect for roughly 9 months, there are steps employers should consider taking to prepare. First, employers should review their recordkeeping practices to ensure that they comply with the requirements established by the new law. Further, they should begin to assess the salary ranges for the positions within their organizations so that they can readily include this information in postings when the law goes into effect later this year.  

We will continue to monitor the application of this new law as the year progresses.