Pay Equity Laws by State — Are You in Compliance?

Pay Equity: Alabama became the 49th state to enact a pay equity law. Under the Clark-Figures Equal Pay Act, an employer may not pay any of its employees at wage rates less than the rates paid to employees of another sex or race for equal work within the same establishment on jobs, the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, education, experience and responsibility and performance under similar working conditions.

Salary History: Effective Sept. 1, 2019, employers may not refuse to hire, interview, promote or employee a job applicant based on the applicant’s decision not to provide pay history. 

Pay Equity: Under the Alaska Human Rights Law, it is illegal for employers to discriminate on the basis of sex when it comes to paying wages, or employ a female in an occupation at a salary or wage rate less than that paid to a male employee for work of comparable character or work in the same operation, business or type of work in the same locality. The law also makes it illegal for an employer to retaliate against an employee for opposing any practice forbidden under the Human Rights Law, or because the person has filed a complaint, testified, or assisted in a proceeding under the Human Rights Law.

Pay Equity: Arizona’s Equal Pay Law prohibits employers from paying employees of one sex wages at wage rates less than the rates paid to employees of the opposite sex in the same establishment for “substantially similar” work unless the employer can demonstrate the wage differential is based on a seniority system, merit system, a system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of production or a “bona fide factor” other than sex. The law applies to all employers, both public and private, regardless of size.

Pay Equity: The Arkansas Equal Pay Act of 2019 prohibits state agencies from discriminating between employees of the state agency on the basis of sex by paying wages or salaries to employees at a rate or in an amount less than the rate at which any state agency pays wages or salaries to employees of the opposite sex for equal work on jobs. There must be a “bona fide factor” other than sex to justify wage differential, which includes education, experience, merit and seniority. Arkansas’ wage discrimination law prohibits any employer, regardless of size, from discriminating in the payment of wages based on sex. A variation in pay may be based on a difference in seniority, experience, training, skill, ability, duties or services performed, shift or time of day worked, or any other reasonable differentiation other than sex.

Pay Equity: The California Equal Pay Act prohibits employers from paying any of their employees at wage rates less than the rates paid to employees of the opposite sex for substantially similar work when viewed as a composite of skill, effort and responsibility and performed under similar working conditions. The law applies to all public and private employers, regardless of size.

Salary History: Effective Jan. 1, 2018, all employers are prohibited from seeking a candidate’s pay history. Even if an employer already has that information or an applicant volunteers it, it still can’t be used to determine a new hire’s pay. The law also requires employers to give applicants pay scale information. 

Pay Transparency: Effective Jan. 1, 2023, all employers in the state with at least 15 workers must include the hourly rate or salary range on all job postings. Additionally, employers must provide their median and mean pay gaps and employers that have more than 100 contractors will have to provide a contractor pay report. 

Local Law — San Francisco

Salary History: Effective July 1, 2018, a city ordinance in San Francisco prohibits employers from both asking or considering a job applicants’ current or prior compensation in setting pay. It also bars them from disclosing a current or former employee’s salary information without their consent. 

Pay Equity: Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2021, prohibits all employers from discriminating between employees on the basis of sex by paying an employee of one sex a wage rate less than the rate paid to an employee of a different sex for substantially similar work, regardless of job title, based on a composite of skill. The employer must demonstrate the wage rate differential is based on a seniority system, merit system, a system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of production, the geographic location where the work is performed, education, training or experience to the extent that they are reasonably related to the work in question, or travel if it is a regular and necessary condition of the work performed. Additionally, the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act prohibits employers from discriminating in matters of compensation against any person based on disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age, national origin or ancestry.

Salary History: Effective Jan. 1, 2021, Colorado amended its Equal Pay for Equal Work Act to include that employers may not ask about an applicant’s pay history, nor can they rely on pay history to determine wages. Employers may not discriminate or retaliate against a prospective employee for failing to disclose their pay history. 

Pay Transparency: Effective Jan. 1, 2021, Colorado amended its Equal Pay for Equal Work Act to include that employers must announce to all employees employment advancement opportunities and job openings and the pay range for the openings. Employers are also required to maintain records of job descriptions and wage rate history for all employees while employed and for two years after the employment ends. Failure to maintain these records creates a rebuttable presumption, in a lawsuit alleging wage discrimination based on sex, that the records not maintained contained information favorable to the employee's claim.

Pay Equity: On Oct. 1, 2021, the standard for determining pay discrimination was amended. Now, employees must demonstrate that employers pay wages at a lower rate to members of the opposite sex for work that is comparable, when viewed as a composite of skill, effort and responsibility, and performed under similar working conditions. 

Differences in pay may be legal if they are pursuant to system based on:

• Seniority
• Merit 
• Quantity or quality of production
• A bona fide factor other than sex, including but not limited to education, training, credential, skill, geographic location or experience.

Pay Equity: The Delaware Wage Payment and Collection Act prohibits all employers in the state from pay discrimination based on sex. It states that no employees shall be paid a wage at a rate less than the rate at which an employee of the opposite sex in the same establishment is paid for equal work on a job that requires equal skill, effort and responsibility, and which is performed under similar working conditions. Employers must prove a difference in pay based on a seniority system, merit system, a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production, or any other factor other than sex.

Salary History: Effective Dec. 14, 2017, employers are prohibited from screening applicants based on past compensation and from asking about salary history. They may, however, confirm that information after an offer is extended. 

Salary History: Effective Nov 17, 2017, agencies of the D.C. government are prohibited from asking candidates for their salary history unless it is brought up by a candidate after an offer of employment is extended. 

Pay Equity: State law in Florida prohibits employers from discriminating based on sex by paying wages to employees at a rate less than the rate at which he or she pays wages to employees of the opposite sex for equal work on jobs that require equal skill, effort and responsibility that are performed under similar working conditions. Employers must prove a difference in pay is based on a seniority system, merit system, a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production or a difference based on any reasonable factor other than sex.

Pay Equity: Georgia's Equal Pay for Equal Work Act prohibits all employers in the state from discriminating between employees on the basis of sex by paying wages at a rate less than the rate paid to the opposite sex, except where payment is made on the basis of a seniority system, merit system, a system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of production or a differential based on any other factor other than sex.

Local Law — Atlanta 

Salary History: Effective Feb. 18, 2019, city agencies in Atlanta will not ask for salary history on their employment applications, in verbal interviews or employment screenings. 

Pay Equity: Hawaii's Wage and Hour Law prohibits all employers from discriminating in any way in the payment of wages between people of different race, religion or sex. Differences in pay between employees in the same classification of work are prohibited unless based upon seniority, length of service, substantial difference in duties or services performed, difference in the shift or time of day worked, or hours worked. 

Pay Transparency: Effective Jan. 1, 2024, all employers must disclose in job listings an hourly rate or salary range that reasonably reflects the actual compensation for the job. The Hawaii pay transparency bill also expands Hawaii's equal pay law to prohibit pay discrimination based on any protected category, not just sex; and compare employees who are performing "substantially similar work," rather than "equal work." 

Salary History: Effective, Jan. 1, 2019, all employers cannot ask about applicants’ salary histories, and they cannot rely on that information unless volunteered by the applicant. The law does not apply to internal candidates. 

Pay Equity: The Idaho Equal Pay Law prohibits any employer from discriminating among employees in the same establishment on the basis of sex, by paying wages to an employee in any occupation in this state at a rate less than the rate at which it pay an employee of the opposite sex for comparable work on jobs that have comparable requirements relating to skill, effort and responsibility. The law also prohibits retaliating against an employee for filing a wage discrimination claim or for participating in the investigation or hearing of a claim. Wage differentials based on an established seniority or merit system are permissible.

Pay Equity: The Illinois Equal Pay Act of 2003 prohibits all employers from discriminating on the basis of sex when paying wages. The law forbids paying different salaries to employees of different genders for work that:

• Is the same or substantially similar.
• Requires substantially similar skill, effort and responsibility.
• Is performed under similar circumstances. 

Differences in pay may be legal if they are pursuant to system based on:

• Seniority 
• Merit
• Earnings by quantity or quality of production, or a differential based on any other factor other than sex or a factor that would constitute unlawful discrimination.  

Effective Jan. 1, 2019, the act prohibits pay discrimination between African American employees and employees who are not African American.

Pay Transparency: Effective Jan. 1, 2025, employers with at least 15 employees are required to include pay ranges in job postings that they reasonably believe they will pay for positions. The law will apply to jobs performed at least in part in Illinois as well as jobs where the employee will report to a supervisor, officer or other work site in Illinois. The bill amends the Equal Pay Act of 2003. 

Salary History: Effective Sept. 29, 2019, all employers may not seek pay history, including benefits or other compensation. Employers may, however, discuss applicants’ pay expectations. 

Pay Equity: The Indiana minimum wage statute prohibits non-FLSA-covered employers from discriminating on the basis of sex when paying wages. The law forbids paying different salaries to employees of different genders for work that:

• Requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility.
• Is performed under similar working conditions.

The prohibition does not apply where payment is made pursuant to a system based on: 

• Seniority
• Merit 
• Earnings by quantity or quality of production 
• A differential based on any other factor other than sex. 

An employer paying a wage differential in violation of the equal pay provisions cannot reduce the wage rate of any employee to comply with the statute.

Pay Equity: The Iowa Civil Rights Act prohibits wage discrimination based on sex, age, race, creed, color, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion or disability (including AIDS). Under the law, it is a discriminatory practice for an employer to pay lower wages to an employee in a protected group than it pays to other employees within the same establishment for equal work on jobs requiring equal skill, effort and responsibility. Employers are prohibited from reducing any employee's wages to avoid violating the law.

Pay Equity: The Kansas Equal Pay Law prohibits employers from discriminating against employees within any establishment where the employees work by paying employees of one sex wages at a rate less than the rate of wages paid to employees of the opposite sex for equal work on jobs requiring equal skill, effort and responsibility and performed under similar working conditions. The Law applies to all employers in the state regardless of size.

Pay Equity: The Kentucky Equal Pay Law prohibits employers from discriminating against employees in the same establishment on the basis of sex by paying different wage rates for comparable work on jobs which have comparable requirements. Employers are not permitted to reduce the wages of any employee in order to comply with the law. Differences in pay based on a seniority or merit system are not unlawful. The law covers employers with two or more employees, but it does not apply to employers that are covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) when the federal requirements are comparable to, or greater than, state requirements. An employer must notify the Kentucky Department of Labor in writing that it is covered by the FLSA. According to regulations issued by the state Human Rights Commission, jobs that require comparable skill, effort and responsibility in their performance are typically not identical in every respect. Under the regulations, “inconsequential differences” in job content are not a valid excuse for payment of a lower wage to an employee of one sex than to an employee of the opposite sex if the employees are performing essentially the same jobs in the same establishment.

Local Law — Louisville

Salary History: Effective May 17, 2018, the Louisville/Jefferson Country Metro Government or any department, agency or office thereof may not ask for applicants’ salary histories. 

Pay Equity: Louisiana does not have a law specifically requiring that men and women be paid equally for equal work. However, the Louisiana Employment Discrimination Law prohibits employers with 20 or more employees from intentionally discriminating in the compensation of any person on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, pregnancy (including childbirth and related medical conditions), sickle-cell trait or protected genetic information.

Pay Equity: The Maine Equal Pay Law prohibits all employers from discriminating against employees in the same establishment on the basis of sex by paying wages to any employee in any occupation in the state at a rate less than the rate it pays any employee of the opposite sex for comparable work on jobs requiring comparable skill, effort and responsibility.

Salary History: Effective Sept. 17, 2019, all employers in the state are prohibited from seeking information about a prospective employee’s pay history until after a job offer has been negotiated. 

Pay Equity: The Maryland Equal Pay for Equal Work Act requires all employers to pay men and women equally if the employees work in the same establishment and perform work of comparable character or work on the same operation, in the same business or of the same type.

Salary History: Effective Oct. 1, 2020, all employers in the state may not seek pay history, but they may confirm wage history voluntarily provided by an applicant after an initial offer of employment, including an offer of compensation, is made. Upon request, employers must provide an applicant the wage range of the position for which the applicant applied.  

Pay Equity: The Massachusetts Equal Pay Act prohibits all employers from discriminating based on gender in the payment of wages or paying any employee a salary or wage rate less than the rates paid to its employees of a different gender for comparable work. Retaliation is prohibited against employees who make complaints under the act, communicate with coworkers about a violation of the act, testify or participate in an administrative or judicial investigation or proceeding regarding an alleged violation, or inform another person of his or her rights under the act.

Salary History: Effective July 1, 2018, all employers are prohibited from requesting salary history information. They can, however, confirm prior history if volunteered by the applicant or if an offer has been extended. If known, previous pay cannot be a defense to a pay discrimination claim. 

Pay Equity: Michigan law prohibits discrimination between employees within an establishment on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees at a rate less than the rate at which the employer pays wages to employees of the opposite sex for equal work on jobs. This prohibition is contained in the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, the Workforce Opportunity Wage Act and the Unfair Discrimination, Restraint of Trade and Trusts Law. The Civil Rights Act and the Restraint of Trade Law cover all employers; the Workforce Opportunity Wage Act covers employers with two or more employees.

Salary History: Michigan has prohibited salary history bans in the state. Local governments may not regulate the information that employers must request, require or exclude on an application for employment or during the interview process. 

Pay Equity: The Minnesota Equal Pay for Equal Work Law prohibits wage discrimination based on sex. Employers are prohibited from discriminating between employees on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees at a rate less than the rate paid to employees of the opposite sex for equal work on jobs requiring equal skill, effort and responsibility, performed under similar working conditions.

Mississippi became the final state to enact a pay equity law. It's Equal Pay for Equal Work Act went into effect July 1, 2022.  The law prohibits employers from paying workers of one sex less than they pay those of the opposite sex for work that requires equal skill, education, effort and responsibility, and which is performed under similar working conditions. 

Pay disparities are permissible based on: 

• A seniority system; 
• A merit system; 
• A system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of production; or 
• Any other factor other than sex. 

Local Law — Jackson

Salary History: Effective June 13, 2019, applicants seeking a job within the Jackson city government cannot be asked for their salary history.

Pay Equity: The Missouri Equal Pay Act prohibits all employers from paying women less than men in the same establishment for the same quantity and quality of the same classification of work.

Local Law — Kansas City  

Salary History: Effective Oct. 31, 2019, all employers in Kansas City with six or more employees are prohibited from asking or relying on job applicants’ salary history when deciding to offer employment, or in determining salary, benefits or other compensation during the hiring process. Employers may ask about the applicant’s expectations around salary, benefits and compensation. The law’s prohibitions do not apply to voluntary and unprompted disclosures of salary history information by an applicant. 

Local Law — St. Louis 

Salary History: Effective March 11, 2020, all offices, departments and other divisions of the city of St. Louis may not inquire about an applicant’s salary history, nor can they refuse to hire or otherwise retaliate against applicants for refusing to disclose salary history. The law’s prohibitions do not apply to applicants for internal transfer, promotion or certain previously employed applicants. 

Pay Equity: The Montana Equal Pay Law prohibits all employers from discriminating in wages or compensation based on sex for equivalent service or for the same amount or class of work in the same place of employment. A violation of the law is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $25 to $500.

Pay Equity: The Equal Pay Act of Nebraska prohibits discrimination in wages between employees in the same establishment solely on the basis of sex by paying wages to any employee at a wage rate less than the rate it pays employees of the opposite sex for equal work on jobs that require equal skill, effort and responsibility under similar working conditions. The law covers all public employers and private employers with two or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year.

Pay Equity: The Nevada Equal Pay Law prohibits discrimination in wages on the basis of sex for equal work on jobs that require equal skill, effort and responsibility, performed under similar working conditions. The law applies to all employers in the state, regardless of size, including employment agencies and labor unions. Employers are prohibited from reducing any employee's wages in order to comply with the law. It is also unlawful for an employer to discriminate against an employee for testifying in a proceeding under the law.

Salary History: Effective Oct. 1, 2021, all employers may not seek pay history, nor may they refuse to hire, interview, promote or employ applicants who do not provide pay history. Employers must provide a wage or salary range to applicants who have completed interviews for positions and they must provide the wage or salary range or rate in certain cases of a promotion or transfer. Employers may ask applicants about their pay expectations. 

Pay Equity: The New Hampshire Equal Pay Law prohibits all employers from discriminating in wages based on sex for equal work that requires equal skill, effort and responsibility and is performed under similar working conditions. Employers may not reduce the wage rate of any employee to comply with the law. The law also prohibits discrimination against employees who file equal pay complaints or participate in the investigation or hearing of claims under the law.

Pay Equity: New Jersey law prohibits employers from discriminating in any way in the rate or method of payment of wages to any employee because of his or her sex.

A differential in pay between employees based on a reasonable factor or factors other than sex does not constitute wage discrimination.

Salary History: Effective Jan. 1, 2020, all employers may not screen applicants based on their pay history. Employers may not require that an applicant’s prior wages, salaries or benefits meet minimum or maximum criteria. If an applicant voluntarily, without employer prompting or coercion, discloses pay history, an employer may verify the applicant’s pay history and may also consider pay history in determining the applicant’s salary, benefits and other compensation. After an offer of employment that includes an explanation of the overall compensation package has been made to the applicant, an employer may request the applicant provide the employer a written authorization to confirm pay history. 

Pay Equity: The New Mexico Fair Pay for Women Act prohibits employers with four or more employees from discriminating on the basis of sex when paying wages. The law forbids paying different salaries to employees of different genders for work that:

• Requires equal skill, effort and responsibility.
• Is performed under similar working conditions.

A wage differential is permitted where the payment is made pursuant to a system based on: 

• Seniority
• Merit
• Earnings by quantity or quality of production.

An employer cannot reduce the wage of an employee to comply with the statute.

Pay Equity: The New York Equal Pay Law prohibits all employers from gender discrimination in compensation for jobs in the same establishment that require equal skill, effort and responsibility, and that are performed under similar working conditions. Effective Oct. 8, 2019, amendments to the law expand its coverage by prohibiting pay differences based on membership in any class protected from employment discrimination under the New York Human Rights Law. Under the amended law, an employer may not pay an employee who is a member of a protected class at a wage rate less than the rate paid to an employee who is not a member of a protected class, in the same establishment, for:

• Equal work that requires equal skill, effort and responsibility that is performed under similar working conditions.
• Substantially similar work when viewed as a composite of skill, effort and responsibility that is performed under similar working conditions.

Employees are considered to work at the “same establishment” if they work for the same employer at workplaces located in the same geographical region, no larger than a county, taking into account population distribution, economic activity and the presence of municipalities.

Salary History: Effective Jan. 6, 2020, all employers are prohibited from seeking pay history. An employer may only confirm pay history if, at the time an offer of employment is made, applicants or current employees respond to the offer by providing pay history to support a wage or salary higher than that offered by the employer. 

Pay Transparency: Effective Sept. 17, 2023, all employers in the state are required to disclose compensation in job advertisements that will be performed, at least in part, in New York State. The law would also apply to jobs that will not be performed in New York State but report to a supervisor, office or other work site in New York. This covers job postings for remote work, to the extent it can be determined that the role, in some way, reports to a New York office or manager. 

Pay Equity: North Carolina does not have a state equal pay act. However, employers engaged in interstate commerce are subject to the requirements of the federal Equal Pay Act. In addition, the North Carolina Equal Employment Practices Act prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex or disability, and most discriminatory pay practices would be covered under that act. The act applies to private employers with 15 or more employees.

Salary History: Effective April 2, 2019, state agencies may not request pay history information from applicants and may not rely upon previously obtained prior salary information in setting pay. 

Pay Equity: North Dakota’s law requires that men and women be paid equally for comparable work on jobs that have comparable requirements relating to skill, effort and responsibility. The only permissible reasons for pay differentials are seniority system, systems that measure earnings by quantity or quality of production, job descriptive systems, merit pay systems, or a bona fide factor other than gender, such as education, training, or experience. The law also prohibits retaliating against any employee for complaining about an equal pay violation or participating in the investigation or hearing of a complaint under the Equal Pay Act. An agreement by an employee to accept less than the full wage paid to employees of the opposite gender for the same work is not legally enforceable. Employers must make, keep and maintain records of an employee’s wages, wage rates, job classifications and other terms and conditions of employment as long the employee is employed and for two years after employment terminates.

Pay Equity: Ohio’s Equal Pay Law prohibits discrimination in the payment of wages based on race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin or ancestry for jobs that require equal skill, effort and responsibility and are performed under similar conditions. The law also prohibits retaliating against an employee for alleging a violation of the Equal Pay Law or participating as a witness in an equal pay claim proceeding.

Local Law — Cincinnati 

Salary History: Employers may not ask applicants about their salary history and may not rely on known salary histories. Employers also must, upon reasonable request, provide a pay scale for a position for which an applicant has been provided a conditional offer of employment. The law applies to employers with 15 or more employees located within the city, including job placement and referral agencies.  State and local governments are excluded, with the exception of the City of Cincinnati.

Local Law — Toledo

Salary History: Employers may not ask for nor screen job applicants based on their pay history. They may not require that an applicant’s pay history, benefits or other compensation satisfy minimum or maximum criteria. Employers may, however, discuss applicants’ pay expectations. The law applies to all employers located within the city that employ 15 or more employees, including referral and employment agencies, as well as the city.  

Pay Equity: Oklahoma's Equal Pay law prohibits employers from willfully paying women at a rate less than the rate at which it pays men for comparable work on jobs requiring comparable skill, effort and responsibility. The act applies to all private employers, regardless of size. The Oklahoma Anti-Discrimination Act prohibits all employers from pay discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, genetic information or disability.

Pay Equity: The Oregon Equal Pay Law requires that men and women be paid equally for work of comparable character, the performance of which requires comparable skills. Effective Jan. 1, 2019, the law prohibits employers from discriminating against employees based on a protected class in the payment of wages or other compensation for work of comparable character. It is a violation of the law for an employer to pay wages or other compensation to any employee at a higher rate than it pays employees of a protected class for work of comparable character. Compensation includes wages, bonuses, fringe benefits, and equity-based compensation. It does not include tips or reimbursement for actual costs incurred by an employee.

Salary History: Employers may not ask about an applicants’ pay history until after an offer of employment is extended. Employers also are prohibited from using prior compensation to set pay, except for current employees moving to a new position with the same employer. The law, effective Oct. 6, 2017, applies to any person employing one or more employees, including the state or any political subdivision thereof or any county, city, district, authority, public corporation or entity and any of their instrumentalities organized and existing under law or charter.  

Pay Equity: The Pennsylvania Equal Pay Law prohibits employers from discriminating between employees based on sex in any establishment where the employees work by paying employees of one sex a wage rate that is lower than the rate paid to employees of the opposite sex for equal work on jobs that require equal skill, effort and responsibility and that are performed under similar working conditions. Differences in wages are permissible if based on a seniority or merit system, a system that measures quality or quantity of production, or any other factor other than sex. The law covers all employers, regardless of size, but does not apply to employees covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

Salary History: Effective September 2018, state agencies may not ask about a job applicant’s current compensation or compensation history at any stage during the hiring process. All job postings must clearly disclose a position’s pay scale and pay range.

Local Law — Philadelphia

Salary History: On Feb. 6, 2020, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Philadelphia may enforce its pay history ban, vacating a lower court’s injunction. The law, effective Sept. 1, 2020, applies to any person who does business in the city through employees or who employs one or more employees exclusive of parents, spouse or children, including any public agency or authority; any agency, authority or instrumentality of the state; and the city, its department, boards and commissions.  

Local Law — Pittsburgh 

Salary History: Effective Jan. 30, 2017, the city’s agencies and offices may not ask about an applicant’s prior pay and, if they discover it, are prohibited from relying on that information unless the applicant has volunteered it.

Pay Equity: Rhode Island's Equal Pay law prohibits all employers from discriminating in wages on the basis of sex. The law also prohibits employers from paying female employees salary or wage rates less than the rates paid to male employees for equal work or work on the same operations. Any contract or agreement that establishes an unlawful variation in pay based on gender is void and unenforceable. Employers are prohibited from retaliating against an employee who has made a complaint, started a proceeding, testified or is about to testify, or otherwise exercised his or her rights under the law. The Rhode Island Fair Employment Practices Act prohibits employers from compensation discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, age (40 years of age and older) or country of ancestral origin.

Salary History: Effective Jan. 1, 2023, all employers may not seek pay history, nor can they rely on pay history when considering an applicant for employment or determining pay. They may, however, confirm and rely on pay history after an employment offer is made to support a higher wage than initially offered. Employers also must provide a wage range for a given position.

Pay Equity: The South Carolina Human Affairs Law prohibits employment discrimination with respect to an individual's compensation because of the individual's race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin or disability. The law applies to public employers and private employers with 15 or more employees, including unions and employment agencies.

Local Law — Columbia 

Salary History: Effective Aug. 6, 2019, the city will not seek pay history, nor will it rely on pay history in the determination of wages unless an applicant knowingly and willingly discloses pay history. The city will encourage vendors who do business with the city to adopt similar standards, and it may factor in vendors’ pay history standards in the process of determining whether to award city contracts.

Local Law — Richland County 

Salary History: Effective May 23, 2019, Richland County will remove the salary history question from employment applications, verbal interviews and employment screenings.

Pay Equity: South Dakota's Equal Pay law prohibits all employers from discriminating in wages on the basis of sex for comparable work on jobs with comparable requirements in terms of skill, effort and responsibility, but not physical strength. The South Dakota Human Relations Act prohibits an employer from discriminating in compensation on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, sex, ancestry, disability, national origin, blindness or partial blindness. Employees have the right to file civil damages claims directly in state court and may recover legal fees in addition to unpaid wages. Actions under the equal pay law must be brought within two years of the alleged discrimination.

Pay Equity: Tennessee's Workforce Development Wage Regulations Act prohibits an employer from discriminating in the same establishment on the basis of sex by paying any employee a lower rate of pay than the employer pays to any employee of the opposite sex for comparable work on jobs that require comparable skill, effort and responsibility, and that are performed under similar working conditions. A contract that allows an employer to pay an employee less than the full wages due under the act is void and unenforceable. Employers that have violated the act by paying an unlawful wage differential may not reduce any employee's wages in order to comply. The act prohibits employers from discharging or discriminating against an employee who has exercised his or her rights under the act or has assisted in the act's enforcement. The act is intended to cover any employers that are not within the scope of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and does not cover employees who are protected under the federal Equal Pay Act. The Tennessee Human Rights Act prohibits employers from compensation discrimination based on race, creed, color, religion, sex, national origin or age. The act covers all public employers and private employers with eight or more employees, including employment agencies and labor unions.

Pay Equity: The Texas Equal Work for Equal Pay law provides that all women employed by the state of Texas must be paid the same as men performing the same kind, grade, and quantity of service and that no distinctions in compensation may be made based on sex. In addition, the Texas Human Rights Commission Act prohibits employment practices that discriminate on the basis of race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin or age, in connection with compensation or the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment. The act covers employers with 15 or more employees.

Pay Equity: Utah does not have a separate equal pay law requiring that men and women be paid equally for equal work. But the Utah Antidiscrimination Act prohibits private and public employers with 15 or more employees from compensation discrimination based on race, color, sex, pregnancy and childbirth, age (40 years and over), religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity. Under the act, it is unlawful for an employer to pay different wages or salaries to employees having substantially equal experience, responsibilities and skills for the particular job. The law provides an exception for increases in pay based on seniority if the increases are uniformly applied and available to all employees on a substantially proportional basis. The law does not prohibit an employer and employee from agreeing to a rate of pay or work schedule designed to protect the employee from loss of Social Security payment or benefits if the employee is eligible for those payments.  

Local Law — Salt Lake City 

Salary History: Effective March 1, 2018, individuals participating in a city hiring process are prohibited from asking applicants about their salary history. If an applicant voluntarily discloses salary information, the city cannot rely on such information.

Pay Equity: The Vermont Fair Employment Practices Act prohibits employers from discriminating between employees based on sex by paying wages to employees of one sex at a rate less than the rate paid to employees of the other sex for equal work that requires equal skill, effort and responsibility and is performed under similar working conditions.

Salary History: Effective July 1, 2018, all employers may not request applicants’ pay history. If that information is volunteered, employers may only confirm it after a job offer has been made. 

Pay Equity: Virginia's Equal Pay law prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex, within any establishment where the employees work, by paying employees at a rate less than the rate paid to employees of the opposite sex for equal work on jobs that require equal skill, effort, and responsibility and that is performed under similar working conditions. Unlike many state equal pay acts, the Virginia statute does not limit coverage to employers of any particular size. However, the act states that it is applicable only to employers who are not covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). FLSA covers employers (including employment agencies and labor unions) engaged in interstate commerce, as well as hospitals, schools, public agencies and most employers with a gross income over $500,000.

Salary History: Effective July 1, 2019, the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management will introduce an updated application for state jobs that eliminates the salary history field, according to a June 20 announcement by Gov. Ralph Northam.

Pay Equity: The Washington Equal Pay and Opportunities Act prohibits all employers from pay discrimination based on gender when workers are similarly employed. Employees are “similarly employed” if they work for the same employer, job performance requires similar skill, effort and responsibility and the jobs are performed under similar working conditions.

Salary History: Effective July 28, 2019, all employers may not seek pay history. They may, however, confirm that information if an applicant voluntarily discloses it or if an offer has been extended. Employers with 15 or more employees, upon request of the applicant and after extending an offer to the applicant, must provide information about the minimum salary for the position for which the applicant is applying.

Pay Transparency: Upon request, after receiving an initial offer, employers with 15 or more employees must provide applicants with the minimum wage or salary for the position sought. The same information must be provided to employees who have received an internal transfer or a promotion. Effective Jan. 1, 2023, covered employers must include the applicable wage scale or salary range and a general description of benefits and other compensation in job postings. Employers must provide wage scale or salary range to employees upon request or when offered an internal transfer to a new position or a promotion.

Pay Equity: West Virginia Equal Pay for Equal Work law prohibits public employers from discriminating in any manner between the sexes in the payment of wages for work of comparable character, the performance of which requires comparable skills and from paying wages to any employee at a rate less than the rate paid to employees of the opposite sex for comparable work requiring comparable skills.

Pay Equity: Wisconsin doesn’t have an equal pay law. Instead it has a general employment discrimination law under the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act. The act prohibits compensation discrimination against individuals on the basis of age, race, creed, color, disability, marital status, sex, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, arrest record, conviction record, military service or use or nonuse of lawful products off the employers’ premises during nonworking hours, or declining to attend a meeting or to participate in any communication about religious or political matters. Employment discrimination “because of sex” includes discriminating against any individual in “compensation paid for equal or substantially similar work.”

Pay Equity: Wyoming's Equal Pay Act  prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of gender by paying wages to employees at a rate less than the rate paid to employees of the opposite gender when the employees work at the same establishment and perform equal work on jobs that require equal skill, effort and responsibility and that are performed under similar working conditions. The law applies to all employers in the state and any individual acting in the interest of an employer. There are exceptions where the payment is made pursuant to a seniority system, a merit system, a system which measures earning by quantity or quality of production, or a differential based on any factor other than gender The Wyoming Fair Employment Practices Act prohibits employers from discriminating in the compensation of employees on the basis of age (40 and older), sex, race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy or disability. The act covers employers with two or more employees.