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
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Colorado Passes Comprehensive Equal Pay Law
Colorado Governor Jared Polis has signed what is one of the toughest enhanced state pay equity laws to date. Colorado has become the tenth state in the country to pass an equal pay law that is more demanding than federal law. The new law goes into effect on January 1, 2021.
Just before the close…
Washington Adds Pay History Ban, Transparency Requirements
Washington is the latest state to pass additional pay equity protections. One year after enacting the 2018 Equal Pay and Opportunity Act, which included an array of enhanced pay equity provisions, the legislature passed HB 1696, which restricts pay history inquires and enhances pay transparency requirements. The bill passed on a near party-line…
Colorado State Senate Affirms Equal Pay Law…Will it Pass in 2019?
Colorado legislators are only a few steps away from approving the Colorado “Equal Pay for Equal Work Act” (SB 19-085) and making Colorado the latest state to enact enhanced equal pay legislation.
Colorado’s 2019 Equal Pay Law, as originally introduced in January, would likely have been the most aggressive equal pay law in the nation. …
Maine Lawmakers Celebrate ‘Equal Pay Day’ by Passing Pay History Ban
On April 2, Equal Pay Day, Maine’s House and Senate passed a bill prohibiting employers from asking about a potential worker’s wage history before making a job offer. L.D. 278 passed the Maine House by a vote of 86-54 after clearing the Maine Senate by a vote of 22-11 earlier in the day.
If Governor…
Illinois House Set to Pass Tough Pay History Ban, Equal Pay Amendments
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…
Colorado Equal Pay Bill Moves Forward…With Amendments
Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (SB 19-085), originally introduced on January 17, received its first hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 20, 2019.
Hearings lasted for over four hours and included passionate testimony from members of the civil rights and business communities. After the dust had settled, the…
Federal Paycheck Fairness Act Reintroduction in House and Senate
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
…
Colorado Equal Pay Law Introduced
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…
Federal Circuit Urged to Reconsider Prima Facie Showing Required for Equal Pay Act Claim
As previously reported here, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held in September that Equal Pay Act (EPA) plaintiffs must show not only that they are receiving less pay than similarly situated male colleagues, but that the pay differential is “historically or presently based on sex.” This…