Pay Disclosure Mandate (S.9427-A/A.10477)

June 1st, 2022

RE:   AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to requiring employers to disclose compensation or range of compensation to applicants and employees

 S.9427-A (Ramos) / A.10477 (Joyner) 

MEMORANDUM IN OPPOSITION

Upstate United, a non-partisan, pro-taxpayer, pro-economic growth, education and advocacy coalition made up of business and trade organizations from all parts of Upstate New York, opposes this legislation.

This bill requires employers to disclose the compensation or range of compensation for job openings for all applicants and employees. New York State already is subject to many state and federal legislation regarding discriminatory pay practices, this bill is not only unnecessary but it also displays a lack of understanding towards how businesses and salaries actually work.

Many businesses across the state have constantly changing personnel, a changing business landscape and different needs depending on the time. If a business loses an employee in the IT department who has 10 years of experience and they replace him with someone who only has 2 years of experience their pay will obviously differ. Piling on more legislation will only serve to kneecap and confuse these business owners trying to comply with this onerous legislation.

There is already a significant amount of legislation regarding the pay gap, this bill would serve as another piece of redundant legislation that serves no real purpose other than imposing fines and giving business owners another headache to deal with. Coming out of the pandemic, the last thing these business owners need is a substantial fine because they filled out paperwork incorrectly, even if it was an honest mistake.

New York State is and has been a leader in the fight against discriminatory pay, this bill will do nothing to help these efforts. This would remove room for employees with broad job titles, force multi-state businesses to change their operations just for New York and add another deterrent for people trying to do business in the state. We need to simplify the arduous process of doing business in New York State, this bill would represent a big step in the wrong direction.

For these reasons, Upstate United strongly opposes the enactment of this legislation.