Amended New York State Wage Transparency Law to Take Effect this Month
As Bleakley Platt & Schmidt has detailed in previous blogs, wage transparency has been a growing employment law trend in New York. Following similar laws in New York City and Westchester County, a state bill was predictably signed into law by Gov. Hochul in late 2022 and amended last March. The revised New York State wage transparency law is set to go into effect on September 17 and marks a significant shift in New York’s labor and employment law. Here’s what employers and managers should be aware of before then.
In a striking departure from NYC’s pay transparency law, the amended NYS law no longer contains language pertaining to any job that “can or will be performed in the State of New York,” such as remote positions performed in New York for out-of-state employers. Instead, the revised law applies only to jobs that can be physically performed, if only partially, within the State. A notable exception is jobs that are physically performed outside the State but which “report to a supervisor, office, or other work site in New York.”
Moreover, as a result of the amendment, employers are no longer required to keep records of job descriptions and pay ranges. Additionally, the amendment now defines “advertise” as it pertains to job postings as, “to make available to a pool of potential applicants for internal or public viewing, including electronically, a written description of an employment opportunity.”
While wage transparency removes employers’ traditional advantage in salary negotiation, these amendments to the law may benefit managers by easing recording keeping requirements and providing a statutory definition for job advertisements. To review the amendments in their entirety, click here.
Bleakley Platt & Schmidt continues to monitor this legal trend and will post further updates as New York State’s wage transparency law takes effect next month. For counsel, contact Joseph DeGiuseppe, Jr. of our Labor & Employment Practice Group at 914-287-6161 or jdegiuseppe@bpslaw.com