New law requires employers to be very clear about something they’d rather not be.
Many people looking for work will often see an advertisement for a position they want to apply for, but the listing says the salary range is unavailable. An obvious question arises. How would anyone know if they really would want the job if they don’t know what it pays?
If the pay rate for the listed job would drastically undercut the salary or wage a job seeker is expecting, there would really be no reason at all to waste time applying.
A new law in the largest U.S. city attempts to solve this problem
“Starting November 1, 2022, employers advertising jobs in New York City must include a good faith salary range for every job, promotion, and transfer opportunity advertised,” explains the New York City Commission on Human Rights .
Similar laws are already in effect statewide or soon will be in Colorado, California and Washington State. And the law affects more than just employers and job seekers generally. Equality issues also take center stage.
Twitter Users Weigh In
As the city prepares for the new job advertising landscape, Twitter users are raising awareness and expressing opinions.
“Salary transparency is a no brainer,” tweets Justin Brannan, a New York City Councilmember for the 43rd district, based in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. “Job seekers should be able to determine whether or not they’ll be able to pay rent and support their family before they apply for a position. Honestly crazy that we even need to legislate this.
“NYC salary transparency law goes into effect tomorrow and some media listings are starting to include $ ranges,” posted @SarahScire.
“New York Salary Transparency laws go into effect tomorrow, Nov. 1. “The 1st thing you should do tomorrow: go to your company’s websites, review the salaries in job descriptions, make sure you’re getting paid comparable to new hires,” writes @jappleby.
Spotlight on Pay Equality Issues Expected
But as salary ranges become more transparent, other issues are likely to arise. Many expect to see known pay gaps by race and gender out in the open. The hope is that this will put pressure on employers to close these gaps.
For example, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), earnings disparities are easily apparent across racial and gender lines.
For example, according to OFCCP’s national data, for every dollar a white worker makes, other races or ethnicities make:
Black: $0.76Native American: 0.77Asian-Pacific Islander: $1.12Latino: $0.73Multiracial: $0.81
Also, according to OFCCP, national data on earnings disparities by gender reveals that for every dollar a male makes, a female makes $0.76.
“It has been nearly 60 years since the Equal Pay Act was passed, and since then, women have made tremendous strides in the labor force,” the National Women’s Law Center reports. “However, women continue to be paid less than their male counterparts in every single state. The wage gap hits women of color the hardest.”
“A robust movement to close gender wage gaps has been sweeping across the country, including an increasing focus on requiring employers to be transparent about pay,” the report continues. “In the past few years, lawmakers have introduced equal pay legislation in over two-thirds of states and many of these bills have become law. State efforts to close the wage gap not only make meaningful change for women’s and families’ economic security, but they also lift states’ economies. Unfortunately, in 2022, we also saw one of the first state bills actively attacking equal pay pass in Mississippi, and advocates should be on the lookout for similar harmful efforts in their state.”
