New York's Ghost Jobs Law: What S8877 Requires, and What Our Data Already Shows
Published June 19, 2026
New York is close to becoming the first state to legally require employers to tell candidates whether a job posting is real. S8877, sponsored by Senator Michael Gianaris, has passed both the State Senate and Assembly and has been delivered to the Governor — it is awaiting signature and is not yet law.
What S8877 would require
The bill applies to employers with 100 or more employees and to third-party job posting platforms. For every posting, it requires a disclosure in bold, capitalized text stating one of three things:
- The posting is for a current vacancy the employer intends to fill by a specific date, if that date is within 90 days.
- The posting is for a current vacancy the employer intends to fill “no sooner than” a specific date, if filling it will take longer than 90 days.
- The posting is not for a current vacancy at all — the employer is collecting resumes for openings that may come up in the future.
Employers also have to take a posting down within two weeks of actually filling the role. Violations carry a $2,500 fine per posting, per platform — and the fine doubles every 30 days the violation goes uncorrected ($5,000, then $10,000, and so on).
What our data already shows
Ghost postings tracked
1,040
Longest-running posting
992d
(2.7 years)
With repost activity
4%
Figures are live, pulled directly from The Hiring Index’s ghost posting tracker — roles flagged “likely ghost” after 90+ continuously active days on a company’s ATS with no confirmed hire reported. See methodology on the Ghost Postings page.
S8877 would require employers to make an upfront, self-reported disclosure about a posting’s intent before a single candidate applies. The Hiring Index does the opposite: we observe what actually happens to a posting after it goes live — whether it sits untouched for months, gets taken down and relisted, and whether anyone who applied ever heard back. A company that would have had to disclose “not a current vacancy” under S8877 is, in our data, very often the same company whose listing shows up as a multi-month ghost posting with reposts and silent applicants. The law and the data are measuring the same underlying behavior from two different angles — one before the fact, one after.
Frequently asked questions
What is New York S8877?
S8877 is a New York State bill, sponsored by Senator Michael Gianaris, that requires employers with 100 or more employees (and third-party job posting platforms) to disclose whether a job listing is for a real, current vacancy or for future pipeline-building. It passed both the Senate and Assembly and has been delivered to the Governor for signature.
What exactly do employers have to disclose?
In bold, capitalized text on the posting itself, employers must state one of three things: that the posting is for a current vacancy they intend to fill by a specific date (if within 90 days); that it's for a current vacancy they intend to fill "no sooner than" a specific date (if beyond 90 days); or that the posting is not for a current vacancy and they are collecting resumes for future openings.
What's the penalty for not disclosing?
Each violation carries a $2,500 fine per posting, per platform — print or digital. If the posting isn't corrected within 30 days, the fine doubles to $5,000, and continues doubling for every subsequent 30-day period it remains uncorrected. Employers must also remove a posting within two weeks of filling the role.
Has S8877 been signed into law yet?
As of this writing, S8877 has passed both chambers of the New York State Legislature and is awaiting the Governor's signature. It is not yet in effect.
Does The Hiring Index's ghost posting data count as S8877 disclosure?
No. The Hiring Index independently tracks postings that show ghost-job patterns — listings active far beyond a typical hiring timeline with no confirmed hire. That is third-party observation after the fact, not the employer's own upfront disclosure that S8877 would require. The two are complementary: S8877 asks companies to self-report intent before posting; our data shows what actually happens after.
Whatever happens to S8877, you can check this today.
Check if a company you’re applying to has ghost posting history →