New York City’s new pay-transparency law has a blind spot: Wall Street bonuses.
The law, which took effect Tuesday, requires local employers to make a best estimate of a salary range when posting job openings, ostensibly giving candidates — especially minority and female applicants — a stronger hand in negotiating compensation. Bonuses are excluded, even though they often make up the lion’s share of Wall Street pay, meaning those gunning for high-end banking jobs probably won’t see much of a benefit.
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 ownership for the BIPOC community 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.”