The way co-op and condo boards advertise job openings, recruit applicants and promote employees is about to undergo a radical change. Starting on Nov. 1, 2022, all New York City employers with four or more employees, including co-op and condo boards, must include a “good faith” salary range for every job, transfer and promotion opportunity that they advertise. As long as one of the employees works in New York City, the workplace is covered by this law. Covered employers must adhere to this law when advertising jobs that are performed either remotely or at the building itself.
The law governs advertisements for full or part-time employees and for independent contractors. Ads are defined as any written descriptions of available jobs, promotions or transfers in any medium — from an internet posting to a flier on a bulletin board. But the law does not require employers to create a written ad in order to hire for a job, nor does it prohibit hiring without using a written ad.
Information in a covered advertisement must include a “good faith” minimum and maximum salary range. “Good faith” means what an employer honestly believes it will pay the successful job applicant. A salary includes an hourly or annual rate of pay — “$15.00 an hour” or “$50,000 per year.” Salary does not include overtime pay, insurance, paid sick or vacation days, or other forms of commissions, such as tips or bonuses.
Open-ended salary ranges are not sufficient. For example, an advertisement that states a job will pay a “maximum of $45,000 a year” or “$18 an hour and up” does not satisfy the new requirements.
Employers who violate the New York City law may have to pay monetary damages to affected applicants and amend future advertisements. If an employer cures a first violation of this law within 30 days of receiving a notice of violation from the New York City Commission on Human Rights, it will not have to pay a civil penalty. But if an employer does not cure, it may have to pay a civil penalty of up to $250,000 for each uncured violation.
