Pay Transparency – Quick FAQs
Pay Transparency & Wage / Salary Posting Requirements:
The Essentials
SALARY RANGE POSTING – The states of Colorado, Washington, New York, California, and Rhode Island all have similar requirements regarding posting salary ranges. That is, employers should post the minimum and maximum that they genuinely believe will be paid for the position. There are also several requirements based on the size of an organization. New York requires salary posting for companies with four or more employees. California’s pay transparency requirement applies to companies with at least 15 employees.
RECORD MAINTENANCE – Companies are asked to maintain pay transparency records, including a history of their salary ranges. For example, New York state law requires employers to maintain a “history of compensation” for posted positions and job descriptions (to the extent they exist). Employers should consider assessing how they store, aggregate, and categorize compensation records for each advertised job opportunity or position. Washington, California, and Colorado have enacted similar requirements.
BEYOND COMPENSATION: BENEFITS, BONUSES & EQUITY – Some states, including Washington and Colorado, require posting compensation information beyond salary ranges. Employers of these states must post the benefits offered with the position, including bonuses, equity, and any additional employee compensation. California, however, does not currently require this.
PAY COMPARABILITY PROTECTION – Most states to enact pay transparency legislation have done so in part to protect employees from gender discrimination. These protections forbid employers from the following: “Paying an employee of one sex a wage rate less than the rate paid to an employee of a different sex for substantially similar work, regardless of job title, based on a composite of skill; effort, which may include consideration of shift work; and responsibility.” In addition to gender, in 2017, California Senate Bill 1063 added extensions to Fair Pay Act protections to prevent race- and ethnicity-based disparities in pay.
Contact us for additional information on navigating your plan with pay transparency and job posting requirements!