New York Pay transparency and pay equity — Ask HR AI

What changes in New York

Salary-history rule: Banned (Lab. Law §194-a) + financial-history inquiry ban (eff. April 18, 2026). Employers may not seek salary history. Effective Sept 2023, all employers with 4+ workers must include pay range in job postings. Separately, effective April 18, 2026, New York State bars employers and staffing firms from requesting or using an applicant's or employee's consumer financial history for hiring, promotion, compensation, or other employment decisions unless a statutory exemption applies — extending statewide the protection New York City created under the Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act. The definition is broad enough to reach public-record searches for bankruptcies, judgments, and tax liens, so a Financial Risk Search on a New York role should be ordered only where a listed exemption is documented.

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"We post remote roles nationwide — how do we handle pay range disclosure? Focus on New York."

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Practitioner steps for New York

Step 1. Confirm whether New York bans salary-history inquiries — currently banned (lab. law §194-a) + financial-history inquiry ban (eff. april 18, 2026).
Step 2. Post a good-faith pay range on every NY job posting where required, including remote roles that could be performed in New York.
Step 3. Include benefits and equity where the NY statute or local ordinance requires them alongside the base range.
Step 4. Retain the wage records and job description that support the posted range in case of an enforcement action.

Applicable New York statutes and references

NY Gen. Bus. Law §380-j
NY Correction Law Art. 23-A
NYC Fair Chance Act 2.0
Lab. Law §194-a
Lab. Law §201-d
NY financial-history inquiry ban (eff. 4/18/2026)
15 U.S.C. §1681 et seq. (federal FCRA)

Frequently asked (federal + New York overlay)

Which states require pay ranges in job postings?

California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington all have posting or on-request pay range disclosure statutes, plus several cities with their own rules.

Can I ask an applicant about their current salary?

In many states, no. Salary-history bans in states like California, Massachusetts, New York, and Washington prohibit asking about prior compensation, though applicants can voluntarily disclose.

What is a pay equity audit?

A privileged statistical review of compensation across protected classes for similarly situated employees, used to identify and correct unexplained gaps before litigation.

Same topic in another state

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Ask HR AI is not legal advice. Confirm any final answers or suggested actions with your employment legal counsel before acting on them.

Pay transparency and pay equity in New York.