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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5383
February Session, 2020
LCO No. 2070
Referred to Committee on LABOR AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
Introduced by:
(LAB)
AN ACT CONCERNING TH E DISCLOSURE OF SALA RY RANGE FOR
A VACANT POSITION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 31-40z of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2020): 2
(a) As used in this section: 3
(1) "Employer" means any individual, corporation, limited liability 4
company, firm, partnership, voluntary association, joint stock 5
association, the state and any political subdivision thereof and any 6
public corporation within the state using the services of one or more 7
employees for pay; 8
(2) "Employee" means any individual employed or permitted to work 9
by an employer; [and] 10
(3) "Wages" means compensation for labor or services rendered by an 11
employee, whether the amount is determined on a time, task, piece, 12
commission or other basis of calculation; [.] and 13 Raised Bill No. 5383
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(4) "Wage range" means the range of wages an employer anticipates 14
relying on when setting wages for a position, and may include reference 15
to any applicable pay scale, previously determined range of wages for 16
the position, actual range of wages for those employees currently 17
holding comparable positions or the employer's budgeted amount for 18
the position. 19
(b) No employer shall: 20
(1) Prohibit an employee from disclosing or discussing the amount of 21
his or her wages or the wages of another employee of such employer 22
that have been disclosed voluntarily by such other employee; 23
(2) Prohibit an employee from inquiring about the wages of another 24
employee of such employer; 25
(3) Require an employee to sign a waiver or other document that 26
denies the employee his or her right to disclose or discuss the amount 27
of his or her wages or the wages of another employee of such employer 28
that have been disclosed voluntarily by such other employee; 29
(4) Require an employee to sign a waiver or other document that 30
denies the employee his or her right to inquire about the wages of 31
another employee of such employer; 32
(5) Inquire or direct a third party to inquire about a prospective 33
employee's wage and salary history unless a prospective employee has 34
voluntarily disclosed such information, except that this subdivision 35
shall not apply to any actions taken by an employer, employment 36
agency or employee or agent thereof pursuant to any federal or state law 37
that specifically authorizes the disclosure or verification of salary 38
history for employment purposes. Nothing in this section shall prohibit 39
an employer from inquiring about other elements of a prospective 40
employee's compensation structure, as long as such employer does not 41
inquire about the value of the elements of such compensation structure; 42
(6) Discharge, discipline, discriminate against, retaliate against or 43 Raised Bill No. 5383
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otherwise penalize any employee who discloses or discusses the 44
amount of his or her wages or the wages of another employee of such 45
employer that have been disclosed voluntarily by such other employee; 46
[or] 47
(7) Discharge, discipline, discriminate against, retaliate against or 48
otherwise penalize any employee who inquires about the wages of 49
another employee of such employer; [.] 50
(8) Fail or refuse to provide an applicant for employment the wage 51
range for a position for which the applicant is applying, upon the 52
earliest of (A) the applicant's request, or (B) prior to or at the time the 53
applicant is made an offer of compensation; or 54
(9) Fail or refuse to provide an employee the wage range for the 55
employee's position upon the hiring of the employee and not less than 56
annually thereafter and upon the employee's request. 57
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require any employer 58
or employee to disclose the amount of wages paid to any employee. 59
(d) An action to redress a violation of subsection (b) of this section 60
may be maintained in any court of competent jurisdiction by any one or 61
more employees or prospective employees. An employer who violates 62
subsection (b) of this section may be found liable for compensatory 63
damages, attorney's fees and costs, punitive damages and such legal and 64
equitable relief as the court deems just and proper. 65
(e) No action shall be brought for any violation of subsection (b) of 66
this section except within two years after such violation. 67
Sec. 2. Section 31-75 of the general statutes is repealed and the 68
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2020): 69
(a) No employer shall discriminate in the amount of compensation 70
paid to any employee on the basis of sex. Any difference in pay based 71
on sex shall be deemed a discrimination within the meaning of this 72
section. 73 Raised Bill No. 5383
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(b) If an employee can demonstrate that his or her employer 74
discriminates on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees at the 75
employer's business at a rate less than the rate at which the employer 76
pays wages to employees of the opposite sex at such business for [equal] 77
comparable work on a job, [the performance of which requires equal] 78
when viewed as a composite of skill, effort and responsibility [,] and 79
[which are] performed under similar working conditions, such 80
employer must demonstrate that such differential in pay is made 81
pursuant to (1) a seniority system; (2) a merit system; (3) a system which 82
measures earnings by quantity or quality of production; or (4) a 83
differential system based upon a bona fide factor other than sex, such as 84
education, training or experience. Said bona fide factor defense shall 85
apply only if the employer demonstrates that such factor (A) is not 86
based upon or derived from a sex-based differential in compensation, 87
and (B) is job-related and consistent with business necessity. Such 88
defense shall not exist where the employee demonstrates that an 89
alternative employment practice exists that would serve the same 90
business purpose without producing such differential and that the 91
employer has refused to adopt such alternative practice. 92
(c) No employer shall discharge, expel or otherwise discriminate 93
against any person because such person has opposed any 94
discriminatory compensation practice or because such person has filed 95
a complaint or testified or assisted in any proceeding pursuant to section 96
31-76. 97
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2020 31-40z
Sec. 2 October 1, 2020 31-75
Statement of Purpose:
To require employers to disclose salary ranges for vacant positions and
to provide comparable pay for comparable work. Raised Bill No. 5383
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[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]