When Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act last month, he helped make history for Coloradans after 39 years of lawmakers trying and failing to pass a bill that accounted for pay discrepancies that are considered unintentional.
Members of the legislative session who started the work decades ago were present at the bill signing to see history being made as Polis’ pen stroked across the page.
While there are different statutes already on the books in Colorado prohibiting intentional wage discrimination based on sex, this new piece of legislation focuses on unintentional discrimination, said State Rep. Janet Buckner, a sponsor of the bill.
Buckner said the bill is about creating fairness in regards to wages being paid to employees who hold the same qualifications.
By passing the bill, some legislators are saying current practices are not fair and that men and women should be paid equally for equal work, she said.
If the wage gap were eliminated in Colorado, a working woman in the state would earn on average $7,000 more per year, which is enough to cover 1.9 years of tuition at a community college, or about six months of child care.
“For years, people have put up with inequities in pay systems, and bosses have done it because they could,” said state Rep. Barbara McLachlan.
The Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2021, has requirements focusing on promotional postings, hiring practices and the process for filing complaints.
Employers are not allowed to prohibit their employees from discussing their wage rates with other employees, and employers are prohibited from asking prospective employees what their compensation was at their previous job.
This stops employers from underpaying employees who had a lower wage at a previous job.
Language of the bill requires employers to “make reasonable efforts to announce, post or make known all opportunities for promotion to all current employees on the same calendar day,” according to SB 19-085.
The bill includes requirements for employers to disclose in each job posting the compensation and a general description of all the benefits and compensation offered.
How are complaints filed?
The Equal Pay for Equal Work Act gives employees who have a case of wage discrimination based on either their sex, another protected class or a combination of both, multiple options for remedy. Under the new law, employees can file a complaint in a district court no later than two years after the employee becomes aware of the incident of discrimination.
Each time an employee is affected by wage discrimination, a violation occurs. This means that each time someone is paid a discriminatory wage, a violation of the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act occurs.
This new avenue does not prohibit the employee from filing a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which has been an option for filing complaints of discrimination under old Colorado statues.
The Colorado Civil Rights Commission is a bipartisan board whose mission is to conduct hearings regarding illegal discriminatory practices, advise the governor on avoiding discriminatory legislation, review appeals of cases investigated by Colorado Civil Rights commissioners and to adopt and amend rules and regulations to be followed in enforcement of Colorado’s statutes prohibiting discrimination.
If a court rules in favor of the plaintiff in a case of discrimination, the plaintiff is able to recover up to three years of liquidated back pay, meaning the back pay would be doubled. Damages awarded to the plaintiff are liquidated only in cases where the employer cannot provide evidence the violation was in good faith. If an employer can provide evidence to the fact finder that it was acting in good faith, the employer can avoid the liability of having to pay back liquidated damages.
Employers have a few options that would clear them of the liability of a lawsuit for having wage differentials, including having a system of determining wage based on:
A seniority system.A merit system.A system that measures earnings by quantity or quality.The geographic location of where the work is performed.Education, training or experience to the extent that they are reasonably related to the work in question.Travel, if it is necessary.
A seniority system.A merit system.A system that measures earnings by quantity or quality.The geographic location of where the work is performed.Education, training or experience to the extent that they are reasonably related to the work in question.Travel, if it is necessary.
Tim Walsworth, executive director of the Business Improvement District in Durango, said the legislation is long overdue. He believes the wage gap should have been taken care of years ago.
The BID, which works with more than 1,000 businesses of all shapes and sizes, has not yet been contacted by any businesses regarding the new law, Walsworth said. He is not sure if that is because it is not an issue for businesses or if they are still trying to become more up to date on compliance.
If a business has been engaged in discriminatory wage practices, it could see a rise in labor costs, he said, but passing the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act is still the right thing to do.
McLachlan said the new law will have a positive effect on local businesses and improve employer-employee relationships.
“I think that when people come in and get a job, they will stay with the job because they know they’re getting paid what they’re worth,” she said.
bmandile@ durangoherald.com
