Colorado’s attempt goes a bit further than New York City’s law. Employers there must provide a “general” overview of bonuses, commissions and other compensation.
The New York requirement “is likely better for other industries where there is more churn, and people work jobs, not necessarily build careers,” said Ushir Shah, co-founder of Known Holdings, which works to improve representation for people of color in finance. “On the positive side, it does at least show workers what to expect, what others in a field make if they want to switch careers or jobs, and create some set of salary expectations between the firm and the employee.”
Beverly Neufeld, president and founder of the pay equity-focused non-profit PowHer New York, said getting companies to reveal salary ranges in a place like New York City also sets an example for the rest of the country.
“Let’s look at this in a couple of years,” Neufeld said. “This will be commonplace information and expected information in job-seeking and hiring practices.”
Jamie Fiore Higgins, a former managing director at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., said Wall Street pay will probably still vary widely even with the new law in place, since a bonus can be many times a worker’s base salary.
“I mean, it’s a start,” said Higgins, who published a memoir earlier this year detailing incidents of harassment and discrimination during her 17 years at Goldman Sachs.
--With assistance from Max Abelson and Jeff Green.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.