By / Karen Forner
Attorney, Marketing Director, Founder, Employer Solutions Law
The Washington Department of Labor and Industries enforces the Washington Equal Pay and Opportunities Act. The Department’s website outlines key provisions of the Act that are provided below:
The Equal Pay and Opportunities Act prohibits gender pay discrimination and promotes fairness among workers by addressing business practices that contribute to income disparities between genders. Both employees and applicants have rights under this law.
Employee Rights
- Equal pay, not based on gender
- Equal career advancement opportunities, not based on gender
- Ability to discuss wages with others
- Access to wage or salary information of a new position or promotion, upon request by the employee
- Protection from retaliation
Job Applicant Rights
- Privacy of wage or salary history when applying for a job
- No requirement for wage or salary history to meet certain criteria
- Access to minimum wage or salary information of a new position, upon request
Employee Protections
It is unlawful to base an employee’s pay or career advancement opportunities on their gender. Employees also have the protected right to discuss their wages and have the right to access certain wage and salary information.
Equal Pay
Gender cannot be a reason for pay differences between employees with similar jobs. Determining if employees have similar jobs is based on skill, effort, and responsibility, not based on job titles. Differences in pay for similar jobs may be acceptable only in certain circumstances.
Acceptable Reasons for a Difference in Pay
Unequal compensation between employees of different genders may be acceptable if the difference is not based on gender. Acceptable factors for differences in pay may include:
- Differences in education, training, or experience
- Seniority
- Merit/work performance
- Measuring earnings by quantity or quality of production
- Regional differences in compensation
- Differences in local minimum wages
- Job related factors consistent with business need
Employers bear the burden of proof to justify why pay differences exist. An employee’s previous wage or salary history cannot be used to justify gender pay differences.
Equal Career Advancement Opportunities
Employers cannot limit or deprive an employee of career advancement opportunities on the basis of gender.
Acceptable Reasons for Differences in Career Advancement Opportunities
Differences in career advancement opportunities between genders may be acceptable if the difference is based on:
- Differences in education, training, or experience
- Seniority
- Merit/work performance
- Measuring earnings by quantity or quality of production
Employers cannot prohibit employees from disclosing, comparing, or discussing their wages or the wages of other employees. Wage non-disclosure agreements for employees are prohibited.
Open Wage Discussions
Employers can require employees who have access to other employees’ wage information as part of their job duties, to keep that information confidential.
Access to Wage or Salary Information
Employers must provide an employee who is offered an internal transfer or promotion with the wage scale or salary range of their new position, upon request by the employee. If a wage scale or salary range does not exist, the employer must provide the minimum wage or salary expectation set by the employer prior to posting the position, making a position transfer, or offering the promotion. Employers with fewer than 15 employees do not have to meet this requirement.
Protection from Discrimination, Retaliation, and Firing
Employers cannot take any adverse action against an employee for discussing wages, filing a complaint, testifying in a proceeding related to the law, or exercising other protected rights granted under the Equal Pay and Opportunities Act. Additionally, employers cannot retaliate against employees who ask about their wages or lack of opportunity for advancement.
Applicant Protections
Hiring practices such as asking an applicant for their salary history or requiring a minimum previous salary to be considered for a new position can contribute to ongoing earning inequalities and are prohibited by law.
Wage and Salary History Privacy
Employers cannot seek the wage or salary history of an applicant. An employer may confirm an applicant’s salary after the employer negotiates and makes an offer of employment, including pay, to the applicant.
Employees can voluntarily disclose their wage or salary history to prospective employers.
Protection from Wage and Salary History Requirements for Applicants
Employers cannot require that an applicant’s prior wage or salary history meet certain criteria.
Access to Minimum Wage or Salary Information for Applicants
Employers must provide an applicant who is offered a position with the minimum wage or salary of the position they are applying for, if requested by the applicant. Employers with fewer than 15 employees do not have to meet this requirement.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2023, employers will have to include some required information in their job postings. That includes a wage/salary range and a general description of all benefits and other compensation. These requirements apply only to employers with 15 or more employees. L&I’s Employment Standards Program anticipates developing an administrative policy to help employers better understand the requirements of this legislation.
More information on the Act can be found at lni.wa.gov/workers-rights/wages/equal-pay-opportunities-act■
Since 1993, Karen Forner has been working on Labor and Industries issues and employment law matters. Her background includes working at the Attorney General’s Office in the Labor and Industries Division for 14 years. After working as a Senior Attorney at a private law firm, in 2009 Karen founded K-Solutions Law—now Employer Solutions Law—in Bellevue, Washington. Karen and the firm advise employers statewide on matters of workers’ compensation, workplace safety (WISHA/DOSH/OSHA), wage and hour, prevailing wage, and employment law All the while, Karen has also become an industry-wide speaker and is often called upon to do training presentations across the state and nation.
