LaKeisha Caton, a member of the firm's Labor + Employment group, sat down with Law360 to discuss the NYC Pay Transparency Act and how larger and multi-jurisdictional companies may try to operate within the new framework. 

According to the article, "The law, which took effect Nov. 1, mandates that businesses with at least four employees, one of whom works within New York City, include ranges for salaries in all job postings for any open role. It applies to any promotion or transfer opportunities that would be performed at least partially in New York City, including those that will be carried out remotely from someone’s home. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies — especially those with national footprints — converted large swaths of their workforce into remote employees."

As Caton notes, “The easiest and I think most practical approach for general counsel is to just have one uniform policy, regardless of where employees are working from or where they anticipate them working from...(t)hen you’re taking away the risk of violating any of the salary transparency laws in any state.”

The article notes that Caton is "hearing from corporate clients worried about how their current workforce will react when they see the salary ranges, as well as about possible discrimination claims. They’ve also been coming to her with concerns about developing wage compression if they offer a higher amount of money to attract applicants."

“I think these big-picture issues are all things that general counsel need to be thinking about,” Caton said. “I think there are all these trickle-down effects and all these other implications because it’s a new law.”

She added, “To be frank, I don’t think there is a simple answer to it.”

The full article can be found here. (subscription is required)