On May 4, 2017, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law legislation prohibiting firms based in New York City from inquiring about or relying upon the compensation history of applicants in connection with the hiring process. Following on the heels of last year’s amendments to the New York Equal Pay Act, the new law is intended to help close the gender-based pay disparity gap by largely removing reliance on current compensation levels at the time of hire. Critics argue that the law introduces considerable inefficiencies into the recruiting process, will have an inflationary impact on wages and will create traps for the unwary. The pay history law is just the latest in a raft of recent state and local legislation regulating the employment practices of New York City-based firms. In a guest article, Richard Rabin and Desireé Busching, partner and counsel, respectively, at Akin Gump, describe the new pay history law, including what practices will be permitted once the new law comes into effect, and provide four steps that advisers to private funds and other financial institutions should take now to prepare for the new law’s effective date. For additional insight from Rabin on employment related matters, see “Best Practices for Fund Managers to Mitigate Litigation and Regulatory Risk Before Terminating Employees” (Feb. 9, 2017); “Steps Hedge Fund Managers Can Take in Light of NY Attorney General’s View That Certain Non-Compete Clauses Are Unconscionable” (Sep. 22, 2016); and “What the NLRB Complaint Against Bridgewater Means for Hedge Fund Manager Employment Agreements” (Sep. 8, 2016).