Washington’s new Equal Pay Opportunity Act now in effect

Employees in Washington are now legally required to receive equal pay and career advancement opportunities, regardless of gender, reminds the Department of Labor and Industry in a June 7 news release. The changes, which are effective as of June 7, are a result of the Equal Pay Opportunity Act, sponsored by Rep. Tana Senn and signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee in March. The new regulations update Washington’s equal pay law, which was established in 1943.

The law has several elements that require employers to provide equal compensation to “similarly employed” workers along with equal opportunities for career advancement, regardless of gender.

Under the law, “similarly employed” means workers for the same employer doing work under similar conditions with similar skills, effort and responsibility.

“There is still a lot of work remaining to achieve true pay and opportunity equity for women in the workforce,” Inslee said. “This bill tears away the ability of companies to shroud salary and promotion decisions in secrecy. This makes it possible for employees to discuss how those decisions are being made without fear of retaliation.”

Along with equal pay and opportunity, the new law states that employers cannot stop workers from disclosing their wages to others, or require workers to sign nondisclosure agreements about their wages.

The law also protects workers from retaliation and firing for talking about wages with coworkers, and for asking the employer to provide a reason for the employee’s wage or lack of opportunity for advancement.

The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries is tasked with enforcing the new measure, which includes taking complaints and investigating potential violations.

“Gender discrimination at work just shouldn’t happen. All workers should expect equal pay for equal work,” said Director Joel Sacks. “This law gives us the authority to investigate and take action if needed, and we’re ready to do that.”

Source: Washington State Department of Labor and Industry, News Release, June 7, 2018.

Criminal records. With employers facing recruiting challenges not seen in almost two decades, new research from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Charles Koch Institute identifies a potentially significant pool of untapped workers — individuals with criminal records. A majority of workers in all roles said they are willing to hire and work with those who have a criminal record. In addition, HR professionals see little difference in the quality of hire and cost per hire between those with and without a criminal background.

Heath care reform. Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), employer-provided health care coverage is considered to be “affordable” for an employee if the employee’s contribution is no more than 9.5 percent (as adjusted) of his or her household income. For plan years beginning in 2019, the required contribution percentage under Internal Revenue Code Sec. 36B is 9.86 percent, up from 9.56 percent in 2018.

About the author, Rhamy

Rhamy grew up watching and working with his mother and grandmother in the senior insurance market. This familiarity with the struggles faced by people trying to navigate the incredibly complicated and heavily regulated healthcare market led him to start Poplar Financial while working on his degree at the University of Memphis. After completing his MBA and Bachelors in Finance and Economics, Rhamy guided Poplar Financial through the disruptive opportunity that is the Affordable Care Act. Since then Poplar Financial has received numerous awards from major insurance carriers and has completed its fourth year in a row of doubling in size. Now his team focuses on the processes around human resources and specializes in providing companies with between 20 and 1000 employees with the payroll, benefits, and HR needs.