Good morning!
Tomorrow’s the day. A New York City law requiring employers to list salary ranges on job postings will officially go into effect on Nov. 1. Many are waiting with bated breath to see how the mandate will affect the 650,000 businesses across the city. In his latest for Fortune, Paolo Confino shares what employers can expect and how to prepare.
HR heads and corporate attorneys are unsurprisingly looking to Colorado as a guide. The state passed similar legislation in January last year. Though the law aims to address gender pay inequity, increased turnover has been an unexpected side effect as existing employees compared their pay to online postings for similar jobs.
The law also has implications for promotions, stipulating that employers treat them like job postings and provide salary ranges. Put another way, if a New York employer drafts a role for an internal job board with a specific candidate in mind, they’ll need to list the salary range. It’s a difficult concept for many leaders to wrap their heads around.
“One of the challenges Colorado employers faced was how to advertise a promotion, and why they would need to advertise a promotion if a current employee is filling it,” Bradley Bartolomeo, an employment lawyer and partner at the law firm Lewis Brisbois, told Fortune. He’s currently advising New York clients on how to conduct pay audits to better understand salary bands and the broader talent market.
Though the law will likely encourage companies to seriously consider how they determine compensation, it won’t be a silver bullet for pay gaps. “The best antidote to pay gaps within a workplace is a collective bargaining agreement,” a spokesperson for New York State Senator Jessica Ramos, who sponsored the bill, told Fortune. “But for those employees who are not represented in the workplace by a union, creating a system of transparency will make it easier to establish equal pay for equal work.”
Read the full story here.
Amber Burton
amber.burton@fortune.com
@amberbburton
Reporter's Notebook
The most compelling data, quotes, and insights from the field.
In an interview last week, Piyush Mehta, the CHRO of Genpact, shared how machine learning is helping the professional services company increase employee engagement. I of course asked him what he’s saying to critics who question such heavy reliance on technology in a very human-centric practice. Here’s what he had to say:
“My response is pretty clear. I don't think it's about one or the other. It is about using data, using analytics, using technology as an enabler to better solve your people challenges. If we make it just about people, or if we make it just about technology, I think it's being short-sighted and it's a reasonably myopic view of the problem. Technology enables us to meet people’s needs much better and holistically. It's not an end in itself. It's an enabler, and it’s getting better with time.”
Around the Table
- A law firm’s new work-life balance policy says associates no longer need to check emails after 10 p.m. They do have to be reachable by phone, though. Financial Times
- Wages and benefits rose 1.3% in the third quarter as employers competed for talent in a strong labor market. Wall Street Journal
- Appliance maker Electrolux expects to lay off up to 4,000 employees due to rising inflation, which has lowered demand. Bloomberg
Watercooler
Everything you need to know from Fortune.
Railroad union deal. Over 300 business groups signed a letter urging President Joe Biden to broker a railroad labor deal after two unions rejected the current agreement. —Josh Funk
Workplace wellness. Employee wellness has become virtually non-negotiable in the post-pandemic workplace and is essential for attracting, maintaining, and developing talent. —Alan Murray
Retirement spending. Retirement benefits may not be getting as much use these days. Half of Americans say they’ve stopped saving for retirement, according to a survey from Allianz Life. —Chloe Taylor
This is the web version of CHRO Daily, a newsletter focusing on helping HR executives navigate the needs of the workplace. Today’s edition was curated by Paolo Confino. Sign up to get it delivered free to your inbox.
