Pay Equity: An Overview for Executive Search Pay Equity | Page 13

New York at a Glance
• The Bill came into force on October 31, 2017​.
• The legislation makes it an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer, employment
agency or employee or agent to inquire about a prospective candidate’s salary history
during all stages of the employment process.​
• Pay Equity makes it unlawful discriminatory practice to rely on a candidate’s salary history
in determining the candidate’s salary, benefits or compensation.​
• Penalties are $125,000 for an intentional violation, and up to $250,000 for an “intentional
malicious violation.”​
• Under the legislation you can inform the candidate in writing or otherwise about the
position’s proposed or anticipated salary or salary or salary range.​
• Under Pay Equity, salary history does not include any objective measure of a candidate’s
productivity such as revenue, sales or other production reports.​
• The regulations allow an employer (without inquiring about salary history) to engage in
discussion with the candidate about their expectations with respect to salary, benefits and
other compensation (including unvested equity or deferred compensation from previous
employer that would be forfeit).​
• Should a candidate, without prompting, voluntarily discloses salary history then this may
be considered in determining salary, benefits and other compensation, and may verify
such candidate’s history.​
• Pay Equity regulations do not apply if required by law or for internal transfers or
promotions.
• The legislation doesn’t prevent other background checks (provided that if such checks
disclose salary history it won’t be relied upon for determining salary etc.).​
• Pay Equity regulations do not apply to public employee positions determined by
collective bargaining.
Key definitions
• To inquire means to communicate any question or statement to a candidate, a
candidate’s current or prior employer, or a current or former employee or agent of
the candidate’s current or prior employer, in writing or otherwise, for the purpose of
obtaining a candidate’s salary history, or to conduct a search of publicly available records
or reports for the purpose of obtaining a candidate’s salary history.​