Rojgar Job News

With the final few working days of the General Assembly session, we’re starting to see the outlines on bills that are pretenders vs. contenders. Yesterday, the House passed a contender on the subject of pay equity in a bi-partisan vote.  Unless the Senate decides not to bring up the matter (as it decided last year), employers should start preparing for its likely overall passage and implementation later this year. Four other states (including Massachusetts) have a bill of this type on the books. So what does House Bill 5386 say exactly? Well, less than it originally said. At the vote yesterday, the House passed “Amendment A” that eliminated some of the more controversial provisions of House Bill 5386. Ultimately, the bill would expand the prohibitions on pay secrecy now found in Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-40z, and prohibit an employer from: Inquiring or directing a third party to inquire about a prospective employee’s wage and salary history unless a prospecti...

Over the weekend, the General Assembly approved a bill prohibiting employers, including the state and its political subdivisions, from asking, or directing a third-party to ask, about a prospective employee’s wage and salary history. I have previously discussed the measure here.  There were a few versions floating around and it was House Bill 5386 that carried the day (as amended). The prohibition does not apply in two situations: if the prospective employee voluntarily discloses his or her wage and salary history, or; to any actions taken by an employer, employment agency, or its employees or agents under a federal or state law that specifically authorizes the disclosure or verification of salary history for employment purposes. While salary may not be inquired, the bill DOES allow an employer to ask about the other elements of a prospective employee’s compensation structure (e.g., stock options), but the employer may not ask about their value. The bill has a two ...