Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

Pay equity and transparency have become hot topics across the country as states and the federal government seek to ensure pay equity for employees, regardless of protected class. Federal anti-discrimination laws like the Equal Pay Act and Title VII provide legal recourse for employees who have experienced pay discrimination. As many employers know, federal law prohibits employers from demanding pay confidentiality from employees. Pay transparency laws go a step further and require employers to publish ranges for open positions, adding transparency to the conversations about pay. A new tool in lawmaker’s pay equity toolbox is pay reporting – requiring employers to submit pay data to state agencies. Four jurisdictions have enacted pay reporting and/or certification laws, each with unique requirements for employers:

• California: Employers with 100 or more employees must submit a pay data report to the California Civil Rights Department annually on or before the second Wednesday of May. The report must be searchable and sortable by race, ethnicity, and sex. Employers with multiple establishments in the state of California must submit a report for each economic unit producing goods or services.

• District of Columbia: All employers must provide the District of Columbia Office of Human Rights with all reports that are required by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, including EEO-1 Component 2 wage information and total hours worked for all employees by race, ethnicity, and sex in 10 job categories divided by 12 pay bands.

• Illinois: All employers must obtain an equal pay registration certificate from the Illinois Department of Labor by March 23, 2024 and recertify this certificate every two years thereafter.

• Minnesota: Certain state contractors must apply for an equal pay certificate from the Minnesota Department of Human Rights certifying that the contractor pays men and women equal wages for equal work.

Although only a few jurisdictions currently require pay reporting and/or certification, employers should continue to monitor pay reporting legislation in states where they operate. We anticipate that additional states and localities will be enacting pay reporting legislation as pay equity continues to be a hot topic in employment law.