In the final days of its 2019 Session, the New York State Legislature passed three bills that, respectively, will bar employers from inquiring about applicants’ past salary history, prohibit wage differentials based on protected class status, and ban race discrimination based on an employee’s hair or hairstyle. Governor Andrew M. Cuomo is expected to sign

Once again, the Illinois Legislature is working to pass more aggressive equal pay laws. HB 834 includes not only a pay history ban, but also additional amendments to strengthen pay equity protections and pay transparency provisions.

Pay History

In 2017, and at the end of 2018, former Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner vetoed attempts to prohibit

First introduced in Congress in 1997, and several times since, the Paycheck Fairness Act is again under consideration by Congress (S. 270/H.R. 7).

If enacted, the bill would attempt to close the gender pay gap by:

  • Implementing a wage history ban
    • With limited exceptions, employers would be prohibited from requesting or relying on the wage

On January 17, 2019, Colorado Senate Democrats introduced the “Equal Pay for Equal Work Act” (SB 19-085) to prohibit a wage differential based on an employee’s sex. The bill also contains a salary history ban and pay transparency requirements. If passed, this would be among the most aggressive equal pay laws in the