Case reflects impact of emerging pay transparency laws
Thanks to new salary transparency legislation, a tech worker from New York discovered that her employer posted a listing for her job while offering a much higher pay than what she's getting.
So, she decided to apply for it.
On Twitter, Kimberly Nguyen said she found out that Citi was hiring a full-time UX Copywriter based in New York who will be paid between $32,000 and $90,000 (all dollars US).
This is much higher than the $85,000 she's earning annually for doing the same tasks, she told CNBC.
"They're saying it was an internal posting and wasn't meant for anyone to apply to externally because public companies legally have to post jobs even if it's an internal conversion... but that doesn't solve the fact that someone internally is now still going to make $32k+ more???" she said on Twitter.
The job listing has since been deleted, but a new one with a salary offer between $117,200 and $175,800 annually remains up — though it is no longer accepting applications.
The job ad with a higher offer came as Nguyen - who was hired on a contract basis - said she has been "arguing for months about the pay inequity."
"I have told my managers multiple times that I know I'm being underpaid. I have gotten the runaround, and they know they can do this right now in a tough labor market," Nguyen said on Twitter.
"I don't want to hear one more peep out of them about diversity, equity, and inclusion. I don't wanna see any more of our C-suite execs recommend books for women's history month. There were tangible actions they could've taken and they chose to perform these values. No thank you," she also said.
Citi told CNBC Make It that it pays contractor service Photon a market-competitive rate, and Photon negotiates the individual's pay rate.
Nguyen's situation shows the first-hand impact of pay transparency legislation that has been gaining momentum as of late.
In New York State, employers are mandated by law to list salary rangers for all advertised jobs and promotions.
"This historic measure will usher in a new era of fairness and transparency for New York's workforce and will be a critical tool in our efforts to end pervasive pay gaps for women and people of color," said Governor Kathy Hochul in a statement.
These laws come as the number of companies being transparent of wages more than doubled over the past year, according to a Payscale report.
For Nguyen, she is now in search of new UX writing roles but warned others against reaching out to her employer and harassing them online.
"My original tweet was just me whining on my little corner of the Internet. I did not expect it to resonate with so many of you. I'm really glad a dialogue is being opened. I'm glad companies are feeling more pressure, but nobody wins if we just all get each other fired," she said in another thread of tweets.
She further stressed that the "better actions to take" would be to call for salary transparency laws to be enacted across the US.
"Support legislation that protects workers. Talk about your salary!" she added.
