The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part of the
legislative instrument, were prepared by Michelle Ridge.
DIGEST
SB 38 Original 2020 Regular Session Carter
Present law provides relative to intentional discrimination in employment.
Present law provides that an employer shall not engage in the following practices:
(1)Intentionally fail or refuse to hire or discharge any individual, or otherwise discriminate
against an individual, because of his race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
(2)Intentionally limit, segregate, or classify an employee or applicant for employment in a way
that would deprive such employee or applicant of employment opportunities because of his
race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
(3)Intentionally pay wages to an employee at a rate less than that of another employee of the
opposite sex for equal work.
Proposed law retains present law and prohibits an employer from engaging in the following
practices:
(1)Intentionally require an employee to refrain from discussing, disclosing, or inquiring about
his wages or the wages of another employee.
(2)Intentionally require an employee sign a waiver or nondisclosure agreement that purports to
deny an employee the right to discuss, disclose, or inquire about the amount of his wages.
(3)Intentionally retaliate, discipline, discharge, or otherwise discriminate against an employee
for discussing, disclosing, or inquiring about his wages or the wages of another employee.
Proposed law does not obligate an employee to disclose his wage information.
Proposed law shall not apply to an employee, who has access to wage information of other
employees as part of his essential job functions, discloses the wages of another employee to
individuals who do not otherwise have access to the information, unless such disclosure is in
response to a complaint or charge or in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or
action, 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 which 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 and adds that the ability of the employer to apply different
standards of compensation or different terms, conditions, or privileges of employment based on a
system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production, or any other differential must
be based on a bona fide business factor other than sex and prior salary history.
Effective August 1, 2020.
(Amends R.S. 23:332(H)(3); adds R.S. 23:332(A)(4))