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Equal Pay for Equal Work with Pay Transparency

The gap between the highest and lowest paid group by gender and race is higher than 50% in many states. One barrier to closing these gaps is the threat of retaliation against workers who discuss pay information. But research shows that encouraging pay transparency and dialogue between workers not only advances equal pay but also improves workplaces. The Pay Transparency Act will ensure that discussing salary information is protected and even encouraged.

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Passed In
California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Hawaii Illinois Maryland Maine Michigan Minnesota New Hampshire New York Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island Virginia Vermont Washington
Introduced In
Arizona Iowa Indiana Louisiana Mississippi Montana Pennsylvania West Virginia
Frequently Asked Questions
Who does this help?
Women and people of color are most often subject to pay inequities that this law addresses. Further, by protecting dialogue about pay and salary, it advances all workers. Research shows that younger workers are likely to want to share pay information, and will be protected in doing so under this law.
How does this help businesses?
McKinsey recently found that companies with leadership teams with gender diversity are 21 percent more likely to have above-average financial returns.
Partners
  • Workers
  • Families
  • Women & women advocates
  • Fair pay advocates
Opposition
  • Employers that oppose pay transparency
In The News
Forbes
Millennials Are Slowly Killing Salary Secrecy — And That's A Good Thing
Pay transparency — sharing salaries openly across a company — makes for a better workplace for b...
Read The Article
Forbes
Pay Transparency Is The Solution To The Pay Gap: Here's One Company's Success Story
Pay transparency helps attract a more diverse workforce. People join organizations based on what th...
Read The Article
Honolulu Civil Beat
Hawaii Takes Steps To Address Wage Gap With The Equal Pay Bill
‘Earning a fair wage often means the difference between raising our families in Hawaii or leaving ...
Read The Article
Model Policy
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SECTION 1 (TITLE):
This act shall be known as the Pay Transparency Act
SECTION 2 (PURPOSE):
This act protects pay transparency and prevents retaliation for salary inquiries.
SECTION 3 (PROVISIONS):

(a) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to:

-(i) Require as a condition of employment that an employee refrain from inquiring about, discussing, or disclosing his or her wages or the wages of another employee.

-(ii) Require an employee to sign a waiver or other document which purports to deny an employee the right to disclose or discuss his or her wages.

-(iii) Discharge, formally discipline, or otherwise discriminate against an employee for inquiring about, discussing, or disclosing his or her wages or the wages of another employee.

(b) Any employee who has been discharged, discriminated or retaliated against, in the terms and conditions of his or her employment because the employee engaged in any conduct delineated in subsection (a) may recover in a civil action reinstatement and reimbursement for lost wages and work benefits caused by the acts of the employer, including interest thereon, as well as appropriate equitable relief.

(c) A civil action brought under this provision may be commenced no later than one year after the cause of action occurs.

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