New York City's Salary Transparency Law requires covered employers and employment agencies to include a good-faith minimum and maximum salary or hourly rate in advertisements for covered jobs, promotions and transfers that can or will be performed in whole or in part in New York City. Employers with four or more employees are generally covered, and the New York City Human Rights Law also covers employers with one or more domestic workers. The range cannot be open-ended. If the employer has no flexibility, the minimum and maximum can be the same amount.
Jurisdiction: New York City, United States
The NYC Rule Applies Through the Human Rights Law
New York City's salary transparency requirement is part of the New York City Human Rights Law and is enforced by the NYC Commission on Human Rights. The Commission's guidance states that employers with four or more employees are covered, and employers with one or more domestic workers are also subject to the provision. The employees used for the general four-person threshold do not all need to work in New York City, although the Human Rights Law's jurisdictional rules still matter. Employers should therefore evaluate NYC coverage independently rather than assuming that the New York State threshold analysis automatically answers the city question.
Covered Advertisements Include Jobs, Promotions and Transfers
The law applies to written advertisements for available jobs, promotions and transfer opportunities that are publicised to a pool of potential applicants. The Commission gives examples such as internal bulletin boards, internet advertisements, printed flyers and newspaper advertisements. The rule does not require an employer to advertise every opening, and it does not prohibit hiring without an advertisement. Once the employer chooses to publish a covered advertisement, however, the salary or hourly range must be included. This distinction matters for internal mobility because a written promotion notice can trigger the rule even when the opportunity is not advertised to the general public.
The Position Must Be Capable of Being Performed in New York City
NYC guidance applies the rule to positions that can or will be performed in whole or in part in New York City, whether from an office, in the field or remotely from the worker's home. That geographic test differs from the New York State rule for some out-of-state remote positions reporting into New York. Employers should therefore analyse the city and state rules separately. A national remote posting should identify whether New York City is an approved work location before publication so recruiters know whether the city salary-range requirement belongs in the advertisement.
Good Faith Means the Range the Employer Is Honestly Willing to Pay
NYC requires the minimum and maximum salary or hourly rate that the employer in good faith believes it is willing to pay for the opportunity when the advertisement is posted. The Commission describes good faith as the range the employer honestly believes it would pay the successful applicant. Both ends of the range must be stated. Open-ended language such as a minimum followed by 'and up' or a maximum without a minimum does not satisfy the guidance. If there is no flexibility, the minimum and maximum may be identical, allowing a single fixed rate to be shown as both ends of the range.
NYC Coverage Extends Beyond Traditional Full-Time Employees
Because the requirement sits within the New York City Human Rights Law, the Commission's guidance is broader than a standard full-time-employee model. Covered advertisements can involve full-time or part-time workers, interns, domestic workers and independent contractors or other categories protected by the law. Employers that use freelance or nontraditional work arrangements should therefore avoid assuming that salary transparency applies only to conventional payroll positions. The classification and jurisdiction of the worker still need to be assessed under the Human Rights Law and other applicable rules.
New York State and New York City Rules Can Apply Together
Since September 2023, employers can face both the statewide Pay Transparency Law and the earlier New York City salary transparency rule for the same opportunity. The core salary-range concepts overlap, but the laws have different statutory homes, agencies and some coverage details. New York State guidance expressly tells users that a New York City-based opportunity may be addressed by the State Department of Labor and can also be reported to the NYC Commission on Human Rights. Employers should therefore maintain one NYC-specific compliance check within the broader New York State posting workflow rather than treating the city rule as obsolete.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many employees trigger New York City's salary transparency rule?
The NYC Commission on Human Rights states that employers with four or more employees are covered, and employers with one or more domestic workers are also covered.
Can an NYC salary range be open-ended?
No. Covered advertisements must state both a minimum and maximum salary or hourly rate. If there is no flexibility, those amounts can be identical.
Does the NYC rule cover remote work?
It can. The Commission's guidance covers positions that can or will be performed in whole or in part in New York City, including remotely from a worker's home in the city.
Related Guides
Official Sources
Requirements and practices differ by jurisdiction and organisation. Check current local law, official guidance and professional advice for a specific situation.