House Passes Landmark Bill to Dismantle the Gender Wage Gap

From the General Court of Massachusetts:

BOSTON, MA – Representative John Fernandes, D-Milford, joined his colleagues in the House of Representatives in passing legislation to ensure that men and women receive equitable compensation for comparable work. The bill prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender in the payment of wages for comparable work unless the variation is based upon a mitigating factor including seniority (provided that paternal, family, and medical leave don’t reduce seniority); a system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of production, sales, or revenue; education, training or experience.

Notably, the bill would prevents employers from requesting salary history in hiring, a measure designed to end the self-perpetuating cycle of wage disparity. Massachusetts would be the first state in the nation to adopt such a provision. However, prospective employees would not be barred from voluntarily disclosing their past salaries.

“The time is long overdue for a bill that establishes a strong enforcement mechanism to ensure gender pay equity across the Commonwealth,” Fernandes said. “We owe it to our loved ones, fellow co-workers, friends and neighbors who have been unfairly and disproportionately paid less wages and salaries for the same level of work solely as a result of their gender.”

“Pay equity gets at the heart of who we are as Americans,” said House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo (D-Winthrop). “I want to offer my sincerest thanks to the legislators who have raised their voices and tenaciously pursued this issue for decades. Your work will shape a better and more just future for women in the Commonwealth.”

In drafting this bill, the House of Representatives focused on building consensus to ensure that the legislation would be workable, effective and sustainable. Key to those efforts were defining “comparable work” and maintaining flexibility for performance-based compensation. The bill incentivizes companies to correct compensation disparities internally before going to court by creating three-year affirmative defense from liability. Within that time period employers must complete a self-evaluation of its pay practices and demonstrate reasonable progress in eliminating pay disparities.

It also:

· Prohibits employers from reducing salaries in order to comply with law.

· Prohibits an employer from preventing employees from talking about their salaries.

The legislation will take effect of July 1, 2018.

Image courtesy of the General Court of Massachusetts.