July 2022: Jersey City Amends Pay Disclosure Requirements

Update Applicable to:
All employers with five or more employees within Jersey City, New Jersey.

What happened?
On June 15, 2022, Jersey City Council passed Ordinance 22-045 into law, which amends the previous Ordinance 22-026 enacted in March 2022.

What are the details?
Having gone into effect on April 13, 2022, Ordinance 22-026 required employers to include a “minimum and maximum salary and/or hourly wage, and benefits” in any job posting or advertisement. Additionally, the salary range is defined as “the lowest to the highest salary the employer in good faith believes at the time of the posting it would pay for the advertised job, promotion, or transfer opportunity.”

The ordinance also reiterates New Jersey’s statewide salary history ban law, which makes it an unlawful practice for a New Jersey employer to inquire about an applicant’s salary history or require that the applicant’s salary history satisfy any minimum or maximum criteria.

Effective immediately, Ordinance 22-045 broadens the law’s coverage to include any employer within Jersey City, not just those who identify Jersey City as their “principal place of business.” The salary information posted under the Jersey City Ordinance is similar to that required by the Ithaca Ordinance and under Westchester Law. The pay disclosure requirements apply to employers, employment agencies, and agents of covered employers with five or more employees within Jersey City.

As amended, the Jersey City Ordinance specifies that the employee count must include any independent contractors working “in furtherance of the employer’s business” on the date of the notice or advertisement. Unlike the aforementioned enactments, the Jersey City Ordinance purports to apply to any advertisement, including notices regarding temporary employment opportunities.

The Jersey City Ordinance is silent on whether it applies to Jersey City employers hiring for fully remote roles.

For more information, please see the links below:

Ordinance 22-045

Ordinance 22-026

Article 1 – Article 2

What do employers need to do?
Employers should review the links above and make immediate adjustments to their job postings to ensure they comply with the law.