Today, the state Senate passed House Bill 6380, ‘An Act Concerning The Disclosure Of Salary Range For A Vacant Position,’ that was introduced by State Senator Pat Billie Miller (D-Stamford). The bill was approved this evening with a vote of 20-14 and now heads to Governor Lamont to be signed into law.
The bill requires employers to provide both job applicants and their own employees with the wage ranges of their positions, a practice which could help close the wage gap in Connecticut, where women earn an average of 84 cents (or less) for every dollar a man makes for comparable work.
This bill has previously passed the House of Representatives, the Judiciary committee, and the Labor and Public Employee committee on purely partisan votes, with Republicans vehemently opposed to the bill.
“We have the ability to close our gender wage gap in Connecticut and passing this legislation, we are on our way to a more inclusive work environment,” said Sen. Miller. “Disclosing this type of information allows for equal financial treatment in the workplace. This bill addresses pay inequity that women have been subjected to for generations. The gender gap now more then ever has real life consequences for women and family that depend on their earnings. This bill is a step toward recovery, a step toward equity, and a step toward closing the gender and racial gap wages prevalent in our state.”
HB 6380 not only requires the disclosure of salary ranges for a position, it also broadens the standard used to determine whether an employer is discriminating in the amount of compensation it pays to an employee based on sex (i.e., gender wage discrimination), and it allows job applicants and employees to bring a lawsuit to redress violations within two years.
At the February public hearing on the bill, a variety of advocates spoke of the need for salary range disclosures.
“Ensuring both salary range transparency and comparable pay for comparable work can positively impact the wage gap,” testified Liza Andrews, Director of Public Policy & Communications for the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “Studies show that when job applicants are clearly informed about the context for negotiations – including the range and types of compensation and benefits available – women are more successful at salary negotiation, which increases their earnings and closes the wage gap.”
“When an employer asks a job applicant what his or her salary expectations are without providing the applicant any information about the pay for the position, women and people of color lose out. Studies show that women often ask for less when they negotiate than men, even when the women applicants are otherwise equally qualified,” testified Andrea Johnson, Director of State Policy, Workplace Justice & Cross-Cutting Initiatives for the National Women’s Law Center. “Since employers tend to anchor salary negotiations, consciously or subconsciously, on the job applicant’s first request, providing applicants with a salary range that the employer is willing to pay helps level the negotiating playing field and reduces gender and racial wage gaps.”
“The wage gap begins with a woman’s first job after college and adds up over time,” testified Susan Eastwood, a board member of Permanent Commission on the Status of Women in Connecticut. “These inequities in pay have consequences for Connecticut families, and as a whole they have national impacts. Women’s earnings are critical to economic growth: if women received equal pay, the United States economy would produce additional income of $512.6 billion.”
If signed into law, the bill would take effect beginning October 1.
