The stated purpose of the amendment is to further the city’s effort to achieve pay equity. Similar efforts previously resulted in the introduction of laws prohibiting New York employers from asking job applicants about their salary histories.
The bill amends the New York City Human Rights Law, making it an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer, employment agency, or their agents to advertise a job without identifying the minimum and maximum salary for the position. The amendment would apply not only to public job postings, but also to internal promotion and transfer opportunities.
Because the amendment does not define the term ‘salary’, it will in all likelihood apply to job advertisements regardless of whether the advertised position is a salaried exempt position or an hourly non-exempt position. However, the amendment should not apply to temporary positions at temporary help firms as those positions are already required to provide wage range information in compliance with the New York State Wage Theft Protection Act. Ultimately, the law empowers the New York City Commission on Human Rights to issue rules and regulations to implement and enforce the law, which would further clarify the law’s scope.