Just four months ago, city lawmakers overwhelmingly voted in favor of requiring many job advertisements in the country’s most populous city to include a wage range in the name of giving jobseekers — especially women and people of color — a better job. opportunity for fair pay. But on the eve of the measure, lawmakers are likely to vote Thursday to postpone it for five months after employers waved red flags. The debate marks an outstanding test for a growing plate of US “transparency of pay” laws. And the answer seems simple on Brooklyn’s restaurant server, Elizabeth Stone. “I think I deserve to know how much I can make as a waitress,” she said. Stone has been looking for job vacancies for mom wages, leaving her wondering if she will try to get away from an employer she likes but wants to get paid more, and feeling she has no leverage to push for a raise. “You are in a really difficult position not to want to upset your employer and not want to scare an opportunity, but also to want to fight for what you know you deserve,” said Stone, a 23-year-old restaurant member. ROC United employee advocacy team. Over the past four years, at least seven states from California to Connecticut and at least two cities beyond New York – Cincinnati and Toledo, Ohio – have begun to require employers to disclose salary information to jobseekers in some cases. . In many cases, this means on request and / or after an interview, and there are exceptions for small businesses. Colorado opened new avenues with a 2019 law that requires a wage range in all job postings. New York’s law is similar, but only applies to employers with four or more employees. This corresponds to about 1/3 of employers but about 90% of employees in the city, according to statistics from the state Ministry of Labor. The law says that any job posting, from an online advertisement to an internal company bulletin board, must provide the minimum and maximum pay to the employer “in good faith that he believes” he will pay. There is no limit to how large the range can be, nor is there a ban on deviating from it if the “good faith” plan is changed. The laws were pushed by a gradually shrinking but persistent disagreement: the average wage for full-time workers was about 83% higher than men in 2021, according to federal figures. Women make less than their male counterparts in almost every sector, with a few exceptions in areas such as social work done in health care settings, federal statistics show. Payroll transparency requirements are “one of the most powerful tools we have to close these gaps,” said Beverly Neufeld, president of PowHer New York, an advocacy group for economic equality. Employees have a level playing field, he argues, while businesses increase efficiency by bringing in pay applicants. Indeed, many employers are already advertising what they pay for. Others say they have good reason not to. Political consultant Amelia Adams said she strives to make her small, minority business a good place to work, offering health benefits, opportunities to work directly with clients and the best pay she can get. Often, however, she does not advertise her wages for fear of postponing job seekers before she even has a chance to speak. “Publicly declaring the wages of small businesses owned by minorities and women gives the impression that we are not competitive,” said Adams, whose New York-based company has four employees. Yolanda F. Johnson, a nonprofit consultant, expressed similar concerns after a professional group she founded, Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy, began demanding payroll information on her desk last fall. Johnson argues that the solution is to raise funds and other work to create budgets, rather than darkening wages. “If you think people will overtake you,” he said, “there are many different things you need to have to be a successful nonprofit where, in turn, you can pay people fairly.” While small businesses and nonprofits worry about losing applicants, some large companies may not post salaries in New York for jobs that could be done by lower cost parties. Some also fear a flood of resignations or requests for increases as soon as current employees see what new hires can receive. “Do you have your existing population saying, ‘Well, if that’s the range, why do I fall to the bottom or the middle?’ Company I “, notes Ian Carleton Schaefer, a New York employment lawyer representing sports, entertainment, technology and other companies. Advises customers to prepare for the new law by making sure their current pay structure is fair and giving increases if they are not. Regardless, some sought-after employers may decide to stop advertising jobs and instead rely on unsolicited CVs and other hiring methods or be more selective about which positions they post and where, Schaefer said. Following the enactment of the Colorado Act last year, some large corporations posted jobs for employees anywhere outside of Colorado. The state Ministry of Labor and Employment did not answer questions about the implications of the law. New York lawmakers are now proposing to amend their legislation to exclude full-time jobs and to postpone the entry date from May 15 to November 1. The vote is scheduled for Thursday in the City Council, where legislation generally does not get on the floor without enough support to pass. However, lawmakers rejected other changes that business interests wanted, such as the exemption of general “help” signs and companies with less than 15 employees. Aside from the details, wage transparency only comes so far, notes Sian Beilock, president of Barnard College for Women. “The transition to gender equality in the workplace is a really important goal,” but it is important to take into account promotions, management responsibilities and other aspects, he said. “I’m worried that the focus on wages is missing a bigger point.”
Associated Press video reporter Joseph B. Frederick contributed.
