In NYC, ads for jobs will have to say what they pay

NEW YORK (AP) — Help wanted. The job: putting one of the nation's most far-reaching salary disclosure laws into practice. Location: New York City.

Just four months ago, city lawmakers overwhelmingly voted to require many ads for jobs in the nation's most populous city to include salary ranges, in the name of giving job applicants — particularly women and people of colour — a better shot at fair pay.

But on the cusp of implementing the measure, lawmakers voted Thursday to postpone it for five months after employers waved red flags, though businesses didn't get some other changes they wanted.

The debate marked a prominent test for a burgeoning slate of US “pay transparency” laws. And the answer seems simple to Brooklyn restaurant server Elizabeth Stone.

“I believe I deserve to know how much I can make as a waitress,” she said.

Stone has scoured job ads that are mum about pay, leaving her wondering whether to try to move on from an employer she likes but wishes paid more, and feeling like she has no leverage to push for a raise.

“You're put in a really challenging position of not wanting to upset your employer and not wanting to scare away an opportunity, but also wanting to fight for what you know is what you deserve,” said Stone, 23, a member of restaurant workers' advocacy group ROC United.

Over the last four years, at least seven states from California to Connecticut and at least two cities beyond New York — Cincinnati and Toledo, Ohio — have started demanding employers disclose salary information to job-seekers in some circumstances. In many cases, that means upon request and/or after an interview, and there are exemptions for small businesses.

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