Q&A
Council member inquires about wage transparency record-keeping and wage disparity studies
1:16:51
·
147 sec
Council Member Selvena N. Brooks-Powers asks about the provision in Intro 808 requiring written records for salaries outside advertised ranges and the potential benefits of a public study on wage disparities in New York City. Representatives from the NYC Commission on Human Rights respond, explaining how mandated record-keeping aids in discrimination investigations and discussing the potential impact of wage disparity studies on their work.
- Katherine Carroll explains that mandated record-keeping makes it easier to detect patterns of discrimination in their investigations.
- JoAnn Kamuf Ward suggests that while a wage disparity study might not change their enforcement work, it could inform guidance given to employers and public-facing materials.
- The discussion highlights the importance of data collection in addressing workplace discrimination and pay equity issues.
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
1:16:51
Thank you, chair, and thank you for asking my questions earlier.
1:16:57
I had to step out for a training, but, I had a brief follow-up question.
1:17:05
So you mentioned in testimony that a provision in intro 808 requiring a written record when when an employer offers a salary outside the advertised pay range would be helpful for your work.
1:17:20
Could you please elaborate on that point?
1:17:24
And one last follow-up question is, do you think it would be beneficial for the agency's work if a public study were conducted on wage disparities in New York City?
Katherine Carroll
1:17:39
Thank you for that question.
1:17:40
I'll take the first half and and then turn it over to my colleague.
1:17:45
Regularly in anti discrimination investigations, we're looking to see if there are patterns that trace a protected class or a particular job description.
1:17:57
And so we ask, as part of our investigations, what records the employer has that will track and be able to demonstrate one way or the other
Hillary Scrivani
1:18:05
if discrimination is occurring.
Nantasha M. Williams
1:18:05
Whenever there's mandated
Katherine Carroll
1:18:06
recordkeeping, it makes that our ability to do that much easier because we know that they're supposed to have those records when we ask for them.
1:18:13
If they don't provide them, it probably means they're trying to hide something.
1:18:20
And, in acknowledgment of that, in the bulk of our settlements that are looking at systemic discrimination, we require, as part of the settlement, record keeping so that if there's discrimination in the future, it's easier for us to suss out.
JoAnn Kamuf Ward
1:18:35
And was the second question, would a study on wage disparities
Rita C. Joseph
1:18:38
be helpful?
1:18:39
Was that the
Amanda FarÃas
1:18:40
Yes.
JoAnn Kamuf Ward
1:18:41
Yeah.
1:18:41
I think for our particular work, since it's so driven by individual complaints, I I think it it would it would be useful to know, but I don't know that it would change the enforcement work.
1:18:55
I think it would inform guidance that we're giving to employers, right, when we when we know specifics about the the disparities.
1:19:03
But I don't think it would change the enforcement work.
1:19:06
It might inform our public facing materials and and other engagements.
1:19:09
But I I rarely think more information is not helpful, and I know there's other agencies named in the bills who might feel feel differently.
