The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part of the
legislative instrument, were prepared by Carla S. Roberts.
DIGEST
SB 136 Original 2019 Regular Session Morrell
Present law prohibits intentional discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national
origin.
Proposed law retains present law but adds wage disclosure to the list of items which cannot be the
subject of intentional discrimination.
Proposed law prohibits an employer from intentionally requiring, as a condition of employment, that
an employee refrain from inquiring about, discussing, or disclosing the amount of his wages or the
wages of another employee.
Proposed law prohibits an employer from intentionally requiring, as a condition of employment, that
an employee sign a waiver, nondisclosure, or other document that denies the employee the right to
inquire about, discuss, or disclose the amount of his wages.
Proposed law prohibits an employer from intentionally retaliating, disciplining, or discharging, or
otherwise discriminating against an employee who has inquired about, discussed, or disclosed his
own wages or another employee's.
Proposed law provides that nothing in proposed law will be construed to create an obligation for an
employee to disclose his wage information.
Proposed law provides that the protections provided in proposed law do not apply to instances in
which an employee who has access to wage information of other employees as a part of the
employee's essential job functions discloses the wages of another employee to individuals who do
not otherwise have access to the information, unless the disclosure is in response to a complaint or
charge or in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action pursuant to this proposed
law, including an investigation conducted by the employer.
Present law provides that it shall not be unlawful discrimination in employment for an employer to
apply different standards of compensation or different terms, conditions, or privileges of employment
pursuant to a bona fide seniority or merit system, or a system that measures earnings by quantity or
quality of production, or any other differential based on any factor other than sex, or to employees
who work in different locations, provided that such differences are not the result of an intention to
discriminate because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Proposed law retains present law but requires that factors other than sex and prior salary history must
be a bona fide business factor. Effective August 1, 2019.
(Amends R.S. 23:332(H)(3); adds R.S. 23:332(A)(4))