Pay Secrecy Legislation
Posted August 14th, 2017
In an effort to promote greater equality of pay among various groups of employees, many state governments are proposing pay secrecy legislation.
Under the proposed legislation, employees would have the right to give salary information to co-workers, and employers would have to prove that a difference in pay between employees is connected to job performance rather than gender. Some states are also considering laws that would prevent employers from asking about a job applicant’s salary history.
States Considering Legislation
California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, New York and Oregon have enacted gender pay equity measures over the past two years. States currently considering such legislation include Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
These laws, if enacted, would prohibit employers from dismissing or discriminating against employees who ask about, talk about or give salary information to other workers. Additionally, employers could not take disciplinary action against any employees who discuss salary information. Employers would also be prohibited from requiring employees to give up their right to discuss such issues.
These measures would completely do away with any kind of secrecy surrounding pay in the workplace, according to legal officials. They are advising companies to incorporate pay secrecy regulations into employee handbooks and include them in company policies and regulation guidelines.
Companies should also review their policies relating to pay. They need to make sure that pay guidelines are clearly spelled out and they comply with legal regulations.
Salary History Prohibition
The Massachusetts legislature is also considering adding another important measure to the pay secrecy legislation. It would prohibit employers and recruiters from asking job applicants about their salary history.
The reason for this is to prevent a person from being continuously tied to a low salary. Often, a person’s salary is based on what they previously earned, and this in effect punishes someone who was initially underpaid, a situation more common among women. And so allowing an employer to ask about previous salary tends to perpetuate a gender pay gap.
The measure is not included in the legislation of most of the states, although equal pay advocates are lobbying for such language to be included.
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