Update on New York State's Pay Equity Legislation

We previously advised our readers that the New York State legislature closed its session by passing two new equal pay bills, which we wrote about here and here. Governor Cuomo has now signed both of those bills into law. Senate Bill No. S5248A, which expands the New York Labor Law to prohibit compensation discrimination between employees on the basis of any protected category, will take effect on October 8, 2019. Senate Bill S6549, which establishes broad restrictions on salary history inquiries during the recruitment and hiring process, will take effect on January 6, 2020. Together, these two bills further strengthen New York’s pay equity framework and introduce a variety of new compliance challenges and questions for employers. The third bill that the Legislature passed, which expands protections against discrimination and harassment under the New York State Human Rights law and which we wrote about here, remains unsigned at the moment, but we expect that Governor Cuomo will sign that bill into law in the near future, and we will update you with any new developments here.  

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