The business community is seeking amendments to legislation that would require employers to include salary ranges and benefits on all job postings, as well as notify all existing employees of promotion opportunities, NJBIA Vice President of Government Affairs told News 12 New Jersey’s Alex Zdan on the latest broadcast of “Power and Politics.”
The concept of pay transparency is popular with policymakers, however, for the business community “the devil is in the details” Bailey said. For example, Assembly bill A-3937 would subject very small businesses that lack HR departments to hefty fines for violations and open the door to private lawsuits on top of the regulatory fines.
“We have concerns and we’re seeking some amendments,” Bailey said. NJBIA is having conversations with the legislation’s sponsor, Assemblyman Paul Morioraty (D-4), about proposed changes, she said.
“Right now, there’s a private right of action in the bill, which would essentially open up employers to litigation if they don’t properly list salary ranges,” Bailey said. “We would like to see that piece removed and just see penalties upheld by the Department of Labor through the fining mechanism in the bill.”
A-3937 currently applies to all employers with five or more employees, which subjects very small businesses that lack HR departments to another layer of regulatory bureaucracy, Bailey said.
“We’ve asked for an increase in that threshold, and I think there’s going to be an opportunity for that number to be raised a little bit to at least 10,” Bailey said. “The small mom-and-pop shops don’t have HR departments or expansive government affairs teams to let them know when these new things are coming down the pike.”
Bailey said NJBIA would also like the legislation to address internal employee promotions.
“Sometimes people get promotions just because they’re doing a great job,” Bailey said. “It doesn’t necessarily open up a new position in a company. So, we think requiring notices for that type of situation doesn’t make the most sense.”
Go to the 17:16 mark on the News 12 video link here to view the entire conversation about the pay transparency legislation during the April 14 broadcast.
