New Pay Equity Law in Connecticut Requires Disclosure of Salary Ranges

In January of 2019, Connecticut implemented legislation that prohibited employers from inquiring about an applicant’s prior salary history. Now, there's new pay equity legislation in the state requiring disclosure of salary ranges for vacant positions.

Governor Ned Lamont signed House Bill No 6380 “An Act Concerning the Disclosure of Salary Range for a Vacant Position.” As the name suggests, the new pay equity law requires employers to disclose the “wage range” for vacant positions to employees and prospective employees, under a variety of circumstances.

In addition to preexisting restrictions, the new law makes it unlawful for an employer to:

• “Fail or refuse to provide an applicant for employment the wage range for a position for which the applicant is applying, upon the earliest of (A) the applicant’s request, or (B) prior to or at the time the applicant is made an offer of compensation; or”
• “Fail or refuse to provide an employee the wage range for the employee’s position upon (A) the hiring of the employee, or (B) a change in the employee’s position with the employer, or (C) the employee’s first request for a wage range.”

The law defines “wage range” as “the range of wages an employer anticipates relying on when setting wages for a position, and may include reference to any applicable pay scale, previously determined range of wages for the position, actual range of wages for those employees currently holding comparable positions or the employer’s budgeted amount for the position.” An employer is not obligated to disclose the amount paid to any specific employee.

The law does afford employees (or prospective employees) the right of private action – which can add legal defense costs, punitive damages and compensatory damages. The law prohibits an employer to pay on the basis of sex for “comparable” work (not just “equal” work for a job).

Over the next few months, you should work with an HR Business Partner to determine wage ranges for your positions. Compensation / salary assessment data will be invaluable in determining wage ranges for specific jobs in your market areas. These types of HR consulting services are available to HRCG clients.

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