Tech:NYC Digest: November 1

Tech:NYC Digest: November 1

November 01, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Tuesday, November 1, 2022

It’s November! In today’s digest, early voting is off to the races, private sector COVID mandates are officially over, and what comes next for pay transparency in NYC.

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  • About 128,000 NYC residents have voted in the first three days of the early voting period. (NY1) That’s significantly higher than early voting turnout in the same period during this year’s June and August primaries (26,000 and 24,000 voters, respectively).

  • NYC's private sector COVID-19 vaccine mandate is officially over. Beginning today, It will now be up to individual business owners to decide if they want to maintain a vaccine requirement. (ABC New York) 

  • New York state's unemployment rate is one-third of what it was compared to this time last year at 4.3%, according to data released by the state Dept. of Labor. (State of Politics) But it remains higher than the national average, which sits at 3.3%.

  • Pfizer has announced that its maternal RSV vaccine, given during pregnancy, protected infants from developing severe symptoms during the first six months after birth. The company plans to apply for approval of the vaccine before year’s end. (Washington Post)

  • With Halloween behind us, New York jumped into the holiday season with no time to waste — this year’s Rockefeller Center tree has been selected! 

In other reading:

  • NY Proposal 1: What to know about the $4.2 billion environmental bond act on your ballot (Gothamist)

  • We all have different COVID comfort levels these days — here’s how to manage those relationships (CNBC)

It’s day one of pay transparency in NYC. Beginning today, most businesses are required to disclose a salary range on all new job postings, as well as promotion and transfer opportunities.

What comes next: We’ve written a lot on this topic since the law was passed earlier this year, and now that it’s in effect, we’re watching what happens when it comes to enforcement. Here’s what we know:

  • The law applies to businesses with four or more employees, and especially for small businesses that don’t have in-house HR teams, establishing and communicating salary bands is an ongoing challenge. (Crain’s New York Business)

  • The city’s human rights commission has the authority to ultimately fine up to $250,000 for violations, but a first offense just gets a warning. (Gothamist)

  • There’s also no penalty for paying someone outside of the range posted — many job offers may get negotiated into roles outside of the originally listed salary ranges. (Axios)

Our take: Making compliance with the law easier — especially for companies with office locations across multiple states that have their own laws — will be key. For smaller startups, many of whom don’t have large internal HR functions, compliance must bolster, not hinder, competitive efforts to recruit and retain talent. 

One opportunity: Tech:NYC is hosting a breakfast roundtable on Thursday, Nov. 3 with Carta’s general counsel April Lindauer to discuss what tech companies need to know about NYC’s pay transparency law moving into 2023 and beyond. If you’re an HR or legal lead at a Tech:NYC member company, request an invite here.

In other reading:

  • How Metafy founder Josh Fabian caught the attention of 776 by building in public (TechCrunch)

  • How to align good developer experience with company goals (Protocol)

  • Make this radical change to your to-do list (Fast Company)

  • Lama AI, a New York-based AI-powered business lending platform, raised $9 million in seed funding. Viola Ventures and Hetz Ventures led the round and were joined by Foundation Capital and SixThirty. (VentureBeat)

  • OpenWeb, a NYC-based community engagement platform for publishers and advertisers, raised $170 million in Series F funding. Georgian led the round. (Newswire)

  • Retirable, a NYC-based provider of retirement planning solutions, raised $6 million in additional seed funding. Primary led the round and was joined by Vestigo Ventures, Diagram, Portage, and Primetime. (TechCrunch)

  • Valera Health, a NYC-based virtual mental health provider, raised $44.5 million in growth equity funding. Heritage Group led the round and was joined by Cigna Ventures and Horizon Healthcare Services. (Newswire)

  • November 2: Virtual: Crypto Fundraising Crash Course for Nonprofits, with givepact co-founders Alicia Maule and Steven Aguiar. Register here. 

  • November 3: In-person: Pay Transparency in NYC: What’s Next for Tech Companies, with Carta general counsel April Lindauer. Hosted by Tech:NYC, Carta, and Union Square Ventures. Request an invite here.

  • November 8: In-person: NY Enterprise Technology Meetup, with Catalyst chief revenue officer Mark Kosoglow and Shipyard CEO Benjie De Groot. Hosted by Work-Bench. Register here.

  • November 10: In-person and virtual: Responsible Innovation Founder Summit, with Gusto CEO Josh Reeves, Cityblock CEO Dr. Toyin Ajayi, Base 10 partner Laura Weidman Powers, and others. Hosted by Betaworks. Register here.

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