Dive Brief:
- New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed the pay equity law, barring employers from asking about a job candidate’s wage history during the hiring process, JD Supra reports. The law applies to private employers and has an effective date of Oct. 31, 2017.
- New York City adopted the pay equity law in an attempt to close the gender pay gap, says JD Supra. Employers routinely base prospective hires’ pay on their previous wages, which may be disadvantageous to female candidates because they typically earn less than their male counterparts.
- Neither employers nor their agents, including background checkers, may access or rely on candidates’ wage history to determine pay, other compensation or benefits.
Dive Insight:
Pay discrepancies between women and men who perform essentially the same work persist. Not only does the gender pay gap start with base pay, it’s also attributed to differences in variable pay such as bonuses, according to an ADP study. The study found a 28% gap in variable pay between female and male workers.
The gender pay gap is even greater in the tech industry, according to Comparably, a salary database. Women under 25 earned 29% less than men in the same age group. However, the gap drops to 5% for women 50 and older. The situation is especially egregious in the tech industry because of its high pay scales and the dearth of women it hires and retains.
Philadelphia became the first U.S. city to adopt a ban on pay history inquiries during the hiring process, but has since faced an injunction filed by the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia. Other municipalities that pass pay equity laws could experience similar push-backs from business groups and local pro-business lawmakers.
