Top 12 Things Employers Need to Know About the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, Statement of Basis, Purpose, Specific Statutory Authority, and Findings, Interpretive Notice and Formal Opinion #9, subscribed to Fisher Phillips Insight system. However, even for remote-based or Colorado-based positions, where the job posting itself is entirely outside Colorado (e.g., a paper posting not available via the internet), the requirements do not apply. Is the California Equal Pay Act new? Equal Pay Act Lawsuits on the Rise Over the past several years, a number of class action lawsuits have been filed by women who say they're getting paid less for performing the same work as their male counterparts - and these lawsuits show no sign of slowing down. >> Read story. While the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment has attempted to provide clarity around the job posting and pay transparency provisions in the Act adopting Equal Pay Transparency Rules, issuing its Statement of Basis, Purpose, Specific Statutory Authority, and Findings, and providing its Interpretive Notice and Formal Opinion #9 there remain some common compliance questions that are not easily uncovered in these documents. Any person who has witnessed, suffered from, or been injured by a perceived violation can file a complaint for an alleged violation of the Act. Multiple Concussions Result in Greater Cognitive Deficits, DOL Issues Internal Guidance on Telework Under the FLSA & FMLA, USPTO Launches Cancer Moonshot Expedited Examination Pilot Program. With the May 2019 signing of the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act ("Equal Pay Act") that goes into effect on January 1, 2021, Colorado joined a growing list of states enacting laws to level the playing field when it comes to pay gaps. Colorado employers should prepare to comply with the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (EPEWA), which will become law in the state on January 1, 2021. . Colorado employers, public and private, should prepare to comply with the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (EPEWA), which will become law on January 1, 2021. No attorney-client or confidential relationship is formed by the transmission of information between you and the National Law Review website or any of the law firms, attorneys or other professionals or organizations who include content on the National Law Review website. Job content (not job titles) determines whether jobs are substantially equal. Arizona Gets to Keep Its State-Operated Workplace Safety and Health Manufacturers Legal Considerations for Staffing Reductions, PCAOB Enforcement Activity Up Sharply in 2022. Danielson also is a main sponsor of the Job Application Fairness Act, which would stop employers from asking job seekers their age, birth date and high school or college graduation dates. A draft shared with The Colorado Sun attempts to clarify the difference between career progression for existing workers versus a job opportunity. The latter means a current or anticipated vacancy that needs to be filled. Therefore, if any vacancy arises that could be considered a promotion for any person employed by the employer, the employer must make reasonable efforts to announce it to all Colorado-based employees. A system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of production; The geographic location where the work is performed; Education, training, or experience to the extent that they are reasonably related to the work in question; or. A. Senate Bill 85, called the "Equal Pay For Equal Work Act," was signed by Polis on Wednesday. In May of 2019, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act into law. You should attach any evidence you have of the alleged violation. The Equal Pay for Equal Work Act ("EPEWA") aims to "help close the pay gap in Colorado and ensure that employees with similar job duties are paid the same wage rate regardless of sex, or sex plus another protected status." All Rights Reserved. It became effective on January 1, 2021, and applies to all employers in the state. Employees who believe they have been unlawfully discriminated against with their compensation or have experienced or witnessed a violation of this policy shall promptly report the matter to theOffice of Institutional Equity & Compliance(OIEC). The " Equal Pay for Equal Work Act " ( SB 19 . for Equal Work Act (the "Act"), Colorado Revised Statutes ("C.R.S."), Title 8, Article 5, Part 2 . Current and former employees can report violations for up to one year, and employers found to be in violation may face fines between $500 and $10,000. all cited laws are incorporated in the forms that are in effect as of the effective date of Employers covered by the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act will have to post wage and benefit information for all covered promotional opportunities and job openingsincluding remote jobs . And not having knowledge of the true top hurts women and people of color who havent been in the room before and prevents them from getting to pay equity in the first place, Jones said. was signed into law by Colorado Governor Polis on May 22, 2019. Campus hiring departments need to maintain job posting records for jobs that are not posted in CU Boulder Jobs, such as for student assistants. Strictly Confidential? The new law will allow individuals who think they're facing gender-based pay discrimination to sue their employers. The Equal Pay Act protects against pay discrimination on the basis of sex (or sex in combination with another protected status), prohibits employers from seeking salary history, and requires employers to disclose certain compensation and promotion . Sen. J. Danielson, Sen. B. PettersenRep. Connecticut, Maryland, Nevada and Rhode Island have implemented laws similar to Colorado but they dont require salaries to be listed. Become a Sun member at coloradosun.com/join, Tamara writes about businesses, technology and the local economy for The Colorado Sun. Refer Senate Bill 19-085 to the Committee of the Whole. Maybe theyre not hitting the skills that they need and thats why the gap is there, she said. That puts a burden on employers, so theres strong opposition to the bill already. Employers who have yet to review their personnel . It would require employers to post worker schedules ahead of time and not penalize employees who say no to last-minute calls for help. Because a remote-based position could be performed within Colorado, disclosures are still required. Now they must disclose the promotion to all workers. That resistance comes from a desire not to undermine women or people of color who might otherwise not take as aggressive a position when it comes to bargaining for higher pay, but rather because when you start to disclose salary, employers lose some of their competitive advantage.. See Colo. Rev. Mr. Cloutiers practice focuses on all areas of labor and employment law, with an emphasis on employment-related litigation and proactive counseling of management-side clients. As such, disclosure is not required where a job is performed in-person, in a geographic area outside of Colorado. Customer Reviews: Five-Star Enforcement and the Expanding Regulations. The bill as proposed is too punitive, she said. Boulder campus Human Resources, University Counsel, Data Analytics and campus Executive Leadership are leading the review, analysis, and implementation in this area. In an analysis of recent wage transparency studies, the organization found pay transparency laws help narrow the gender wage gap by reducing wage growth among top earners, who tend to be men. Employer is defined as the state or any political subdivision, commission, department, institution, or school district thereof, and every other person employing a person in the state. If you need immediate assistance, please contact 303-492-6475. There is not a set number of days a promotional opportunity must be posted before the hiring decision. Dec'21- Dec'22: 104,700, 2023 Minimum Wage Do Issuers Fail To File Form Ds Because They Fear Trolls? An employer ultimately may pay more or less than the posted range. We will monitor the developments in Colorado and provide updates as warranted, so you should ensure you are subscribed to Fisher Phillips Insight system to gather the most up-to-date information. Dont even ask. Draft the To Each Their Own: Agency Must Consider Experience of Each Partner in CMS Updates List of Telehealth Services for CY 2023, What You Need to Know About the New Tariffs on Imports from Russia. The nature of the workthe skills, effort, responsibilities, and working conditionsrather than the job title determines whether the jobs will be considered substantially equal. David Seligman, who supported the new law as executive director of Towards Justice, said theres evidence that wage transparency is working in Colorado. Challenges to the No Surprises Act Continue: The Latest includes a Navigating Permissive State Laws in Light of the Federal Information FDA Publishes List of 2023 Priority Guidance Topics. The majority complied after a warning. Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act Colorado's Anti-Discrimination Act also prohibits sex-based wage discrimination. The pay gap is even wider for Black and Latina women; they earn 63.1 and 53.5 cents on the dollar that men earn. Employers need only announce promotion opportunities to employees who perform any amount of work while physically present in Colorado. But, the analysis found, these laws do not necessarily increase womens earnings. Equal Pay. Committee meetings where the debates flow on proposed laws can be heard online. A promotional opportunity includes any promotion in compensation, benefits, status, duties, or access to further advancement. Specifically, the law has changed the way employers post jobs, promotions, hire, determine pay, and keep records. This upcoming Colorado Equal Pay law includes 2 new rules to do with job postings, as pointed out by the Boulder Area Human Resources Association: Has the law helped you as a job seeker or been a burden as an employer? This story was updated at 5:03 p.m. on July 13, 2022 to share more details about the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment letter to Monigle Associates and how the company attempted to rectify the issue. And now, the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act is poised for an update from some of the state lawmakers behind it. Department Of Justice Introduces Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy For All U.S. Minnesota Supreme Court Clarifies State Law Standards for Severe or Pervasive Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. The University of Northern Colorado is committed to providing an equitable and . How do we know what salary to offer for a new hire or a promotion if we cant ask or use the finalists current salary information? She also writes the "What's Working" column, available as a free newsletter at coloradosun.com/getww. On May 22, 2019, Colorado Governor Polis signed the "Equal Pay for Equal Work Act" into law, one of the toughest state pay equity laws in the country. 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