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NYC to require salary ranges be included in job postings

nytimes.com

11–20 of 331 posts

Re: NYC to require salary ranges be included in job postings

#11

For finance and tech jobs the compensation will be tied up in performance bonuses and equity, so salary ranges aren't the most meaningful for these roles, except when there is no non-salary pay.

Exactly. And the base comp is largely the same everywhere. It’s the equity that matters.

This would probably drive increased base compensation and decreased variable compensation in order to stand out on job boards. I’m among the people who would like that !

Re: NYC to require salary ranges be included in job postings

#12
post #8

I get why employers would hate this, but overall, wouldn't greater transparency in the labor market drive economic growth by virtue of making the labor market more efficient by doing a better job of connecting skilled, hard-working and motivated employees with employers who can pay more?

By what mechanism does legally enforced transparency make the labor market more efficient?

In general, pricing transparency increases market efficiency (and vice versa).

Re: NYC to require salary ranges be included in job postings

#13
post #5

While I am supportive of this, I expect a lot (majority?) of listings with ranges like "$40k-200k based on experience". (Or the example from the article, "$17-50/hr")

This is still a good thing because you know the true limit. So instead of thinking "maybe I can get 60k for this job", you can think "maybe I can get 120k for this job".

Re: NYC to require salary ranges be included in job postings

#14

I get why employers would hate this, but overall, wouldn't greater transparency in the labor market drive economic growth by virtue of making the labor market more efficient by doing a better job of connecting skilled, hard-working and motivated employees with employers who can pay more?

Most won't directly voice this, but I believe the primary objection from many employers is that there kinds of salary transparency laws raise the floor, since you know (roughly) what all of your colleagues are making.

In other words: software (like most other industries) relies in part on employees low-balling themselves (and stigma around sharing salary information), which is harder to do when you know what the actual salary band is.

Re: NYC to require salary ranges be included in job postings

#16

I get why employers would hate this, but overall, wouldn't greater transparency in the labor market drive economic growth by virtue of making the labor market more efficient by doing a better job of connecting skilled, hard-working and motivated employees with employers who can pay more?

I don't think they'll hate it. If they know what a prospective employee is making, they can offer a minimal increment on that within their (wide) salary range. Currently, only the employer knows their real budget (and that may change if they get the right candidate) and only the employee knows what they'll move for. Salary negotiation is based on those two secrets. This legislation makes the latter secret public know…

The latter was already public knowledge, your entire salary history is probably available via The Work Number. This makes the former secret public knowledge.

Re: NYC to require salary ranges be included in job postings

#17
post #8

I get why employers would hate this, but overall, wouldn't greater transparency in the labor market drive economic growth by virtue of making the labor market more efficient by doing a better job of connecting skilled, hard-working and motivated employees with employers who can pay more?

By what mechanism does legally enforced transparency make the labor market more efficient?

Pricing transparency eliminates economic triage and uncertainly: if you want to make $XXX, you don't have to apply to 10 different jobs and spend everyone's time determining whether they'll pay you $XXX.

Re: NYC to require salary ranges be included in job postings

#18

For finance and tech jobs the compensation will be tied up in performance bonuses and equity, so salary ranges aren't the most meaningful for these roles, except when there is no non-salary pay.

For tech jobs I'd wager the vast majority operate on a simple salary plus retirement set up. HN is definitely in a bubble where seemingly everyone works at the top tech companies and gets like 175k base + 90k in bonuses and equity.

Re: NYC to require salary ranges be included in job postings

#19
post #6

This will make it a lot easier to gather financial data on individuals and target ads to people who make $x. If the job and salary are posted, it will be scraped, and compared to job titles in profiles at places like LinkedIn.

Can't you already estimate this pretty well from e.g glassdoor?

Re: NYC to require salary ranges be included in job postings

#20
The place I’m applying simply lists: “Software Development (all levels)” and is an open call for engineers. Salary obviously will depend on experience and interview performance. I don’t see why that’s an issue, a corporatized version of this where each company has to split their postings into 8 different categories or risk excluding complete novices/interns that might join for near free or heavy hitters that would need big cash but provide significant return… doesn’t seem better in any way.
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