NYC Council Overrides Mayor’s Veto and Approves New Pay Reporting Requirements

NYC Council Overrides Mayor’s Veto and Approves New Pay Reporting Requirements

On December 4, 2025, the New York City Council voted to override Mayor Eric Adams’ vetoes of two bills requiring annual pay reporting and pay analyses—Int. 982-A and Int. 984-A. Originally passed on October 9, 2025, the legislation is part of a broader effort to advance wage transparency and address perceived pay disparities based on race and gender. The new reports will be styled after the Component 2 EEO-1 pay data reports that were required by the EEOC for the 2017 and 2018 reporting periods. Based on submitted employer data, a designated New York City agency will conduct a citywide pay equity audit based on aggregate data and prepare and publish recommendations for employer action plans for addressing pay disparities. While reporting deadlines will not kick in immediately, employers should begin preparing now for the upcoming new reporting requirements.

Pay Data Reporting Requirements (Int. 982-A)

Int. 982-A requires private employers with 200 or more employees working in New York City to submit annual pay data reports. The legislation is designed to improve wage transparency and enable the City to better understand compensation trends across industries and demographic groups. While the reporting framework is to be modeled after former federal pay data reporting requirements—known as “EEO-1 Component 2”—the bill gives the city agency discretion to adopt modifications to the reporting, including to adjust demographic categories to account for different gender identities.

If NYC adopts the EEO-1 Component 2 structure used for the 2017 and 2018 reporting years without modification, covered employers will be required to report W-2 wage information and total hours worked by race, ethnicity and sex within 12 specified pay bands. Additionally, employers will have the opportunity to voluntarily include explanatory remarks to provide context for the data submitted.

Interestingly, Int. 982-A will allow employers to submit the data component of their submission anonymously. However, each employer will also be required to separately submit a signed statement identifying the employer and confirming the accuracy of their data submission.

The city agency will publish annually on its website a list of employers who are not in compliance with these requirements. However, before including an employer on the published list, the agency must notify the employer of its noncompliance and provide at least 30 days to comply.  Employers who do not submit the pay report and certification, and do not comply within 30 days of receiving notice of the violation will be fined $1,000 for the first offense and $5,000 for any subsequent offense.

Citywide Pay Equity Study (Int. 984-A)

Int. 984-A complements the reporting requirement by directing the designated agency, in coordination with the Commission on Gender Equity, to conduct an annual pay equity study using the pay data reports submitted by employers. The study will assess disparities in compensation based on race, ethnicity, and gender, and its results will be submitted to the Mayor and the Speaker of the City Council. Given that employer submissions may be provided anonymously, the pay studies are likely to be based on aggregate employer data that will not identify results for any specific employer. The agency must also make and publicize recommendations for employer action plans to address any disparities identified in the study. The agency will also publish aggregated data from the employer-submitted reports and may only do so in a manner that does not reveal the employer or other identifying information.

Legislative History

The pay equity legislation now in effect reflects a year-long process of debate and revision. Int. 982-A and Int. 984-A were introduced in July 2024 and referred to the Committee on Civil and Human Rights, which held hearings featuring testimony from city agencies, advocacy groups, and employer representatives. Early drafts proposed coverage for employers with 25 or more employees, but that threshold was later raised to address concerns about administrative burden. On October 9, 2025, the Council passed both bills with more than 80% support, signaling strong legislative backing.

Mayor Eric Adams vetoed the measures on November 7, 2025, citing compliance costs and economic impact. The veto came shortly after his announcement that he would not seek reelection, adding a layer of political complexity to the process. On December 4, 2025, the Council exercised its override authority, enacting the bills into law by wide margins. The override also positions New York City alongside jurisdictions such as California and Illinois that have adopted state-specific pay data reporting requirements, signaling a movement towards greater wage transparency.

Open Questions and Implementation Uncertainties

While the legislation establishes the overall framework for New York City’s new pay data reporting and pay equity study requirements, many operational and enforcement details remain unclear and are likely to be addressed through future rulemaking or agency guidance.

First, the bills reference the EEOC’s former EEO-1 Component 2 pay data reporting framework from 2017–2018, which is no longer in effect. That framework required employers to report employee counts by EEO-1 job category, pay band, and hours worked.  Several of those details, including capturing hours worked data for exempt workers could pose significant data collection challenges for employers. It also remains unclear whether the City will retain the EEOC’s EEO-1 job categories and pay bands, if they will use the EEOC’s process for collecting industry data by NAICS code, or if they will otherwise exercise the discretion they have been awarded to revise the requirements.

Second, while the legislation does outline civil penalties for noncompliance (as discussed above), it does not specify which agency will have oversight over these new requirements or how they will be enforced. Also, the law provides for the publication of a list of noncompliant employers, suggesting that the designated agency will need a mechanism to identify covered entities and then compare the submissions against that list to identify those that failed to report. Employers will need to wait for further guidance to assess the scope of enforcement risks and compliance expectations.

Next Steps and Employer Considerations

Following the City Council’s override, the legislation takes effect immediately, but employers will not be required to submit pay data reports until the implementing agency establishes the reporting framework, a process that could extend deadlines out to 2028, though accelerated timelines could require reporting as early as 2026 depending on how quickly the Mayor and City act. The legislation sets out a phased timeline:

• The Mayor must designate a responsible agency within 12 months (by December 4, 2026).
• Once designated, the agency has up to 12 months to create the standardized reporting format and establish submission procedures.
• Employer reporting deadlines will then kick in, which must be within the 12-month timeframe after the standardized form is published, and annually thereafter.

Employers should begin preparing now by reviewing internal pay structures and demographic data collection practices, ensuring systems can support accurate reporting. Additionally, employers should consider conducting privileged, proactive pay studies to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local equal pay standards.

We anticipate that the designated city agency will issue rules and/or guidance to implement these new reporting requirements, potentially including templates, submission procedures, and publication protocols. Seyfarth will continue to monitor developments and provide updates as implementation details emerge. For additional questions or assistance, please contact the authors of this alert, a member of Seyfarth’s People Analytics team, or any of Seyfarth’s attorneys.