New York City is taking steps to make equal pay a reality.
On Thursday evening, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio will sign legislation that will make it illegal for employers to base a person’s salary on the salaries they earned with previous employers, according to a press release from his office. This law, which passed a City Council vote with flying colors last month, was written to support women and people of color.
A summary of the new law, which was introduced by public advocate Letitia James in August of last year, reads as such:
This bill would prohibit employers from inquiring about a prospective employee’s salary history during all stages of the employment process. In the event that an employer is already aware of a prospective employee’s salary history, this bill would prohibit reliance on that information in the determination of salary.
“Being underpaid once should not condemn one to a lifetime of inequity,” James said in a statement when the bill passed in April. “We will never close the wage gap unless we continue to enact proactive policies that promote economic justice and equity.”
The new law comes six months after de Blasio signed a similar one in November 2016, which limited the ban on asking about a potential employee’s previous salary to government employers; this new law will apply city-wide to public and private institutions.
