Approved by the Legislative Commissioner

May 27, 2015

AN ACT CONCERNING PAY EQUITY AND FAIRNESS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2015) (a) As used in this section:

(1) "Employer" means any individual, corporation, limited liability company, firm, partnership, voluntary association, joint stock association, the state and any political subdivision thereof and any public corporation within the state using the services of one or more employees for pay;

(2) "Employee" means any individual employed or permitted to work by an employer; and

(3) "Wages" means compensation for labor or services rendered by an employee, whether the amount is determined on a time, task, piece, commission or other basis of calculation.

(b) No employer shall:

(1) Prohibit an employee from disclosing or discussing the amount of his or her wages or the wages of another employee of such employer that have been disclosed voluntarily by such other employee;

(2) Prohibit an employee from inquiring about the wages of another employee of such employer;

(3) Require an employee to sign a waiver or other document that denies the employee his or her right to disclose or discuss the amount of his or her wages or the wages of another employee of such employer that have been disclosed voluntarily by such other employee;

(4) Require an employee to sign a waiver or other document that denies the employee his or her right to inquire about the wages of another employee of such employer;

(5) Discharge, discipline, discriminate against, retaliate against or otherwise penalize any employee who discloses or discusses the amount of his or her wages or the wages of another employee of such employer that have been disclosed voluntarily by such other employee; or

(6) Discharge, discipline, discriminate against, retaliate against or otherwise penalize any employee who inquires about the wages of another employee of such employer.

(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require any employer or employee to disclose the amount of wages paid to any employee.

(d) An action to redress a violation of subsection (b) of this section may be maintained in any court of competent jurisdiction by any one or more employees. An employer who violates subsection (b) of this section may be found liable for compensatory damages, attorney's fees and costs, punitive damages and such legal and equitable relief as the court deems just and proper.

(e) No action shall be brought for any violation of subsection (b) of this section except within two years after such violation.

The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst's professional knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact: None

Municipal Impact: None

Explanation

The bill prohibits employers, including the state and municipalities, from restricting employees' ability to share certain wage information. This does not result in any fiscal impact to the state or municipalities.

House “A” limits employees' sharing of other employees' wage information under certain circumstances.

The Out Years

State Impact: None

Municipal Impact: None

OLR Bill Analysis

HB 6850 (as amended by House "A")*

AN ACT CONCERNING PAY EQUITY AND FAIRNESS.

SUMMARY:

This bill prohibits employers, including the state and municipalities, from taking certain steps to limit their employees' ability to share information about their wages. Under the bill, such sharing consists of employees under the same employer (1) disclosing or discussing the amount of their own wages or other employees' voluntarily disclosed wages or (2) asking about other employees' wages. Specifically, the bill bans employers from (1) prohibiting their employees from such sharing; (2) requiring employees to sign a waiver or document that denies their right to such sharing; and (3) discharging, disciplining, discriminating or retaliating against, or otherwise penalizing employees for such sharing.

The bill allows employees to bring a lawsuit to redress a violation of its provisions in any court of competent jurisdiction. The suit must be brought within two years after an alleged violation. Employers can be found liable for compensatory damages, attorney's fees and costs, punitive damages, and any legal and equitable relief the court deems just and proper.

*House Amendment “A” limits an employee's sharing of another employee's wage information to information that (1) is about another of the employer's employees and (2) was voluntarily disclosed by the other employee.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2015

EMPLOYERS AND WAGES

Under the bill, an employer is any individual, corporation, limited liability company, firm, partnership, voluntary association, joint stock association, the state and any of its political subdivisions, and any public corporation in the state with at least one paid employee. Wages are compensation for an employee's labor or services, regardless of whether they are determined by time, task, piece, commission, or other basis of calculation.

The bill specifies that it does not require an employer or employee to disclose any employee's wages.

COMMITTEE ACTION

Labor and Public Employees Committee

Joint Favorable

Judiciary Committee

Joint Favorable