In Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser has signed a pay transparency act that’s set to take effect on June 30, 2024, pending the District’s 30-day congressional review period.
D.C. Act 25-367 will apply to employers with at least one employee in the District. Here’s the scoop:
1. Disclosure obligations
Employers will be required to disclose pay rates and healthcare benefits for all open positions.
Regarding pay rates, employers must provide “the minimum and maximum projected salary or hourly pay in all job listings and position descriptions advertised.” Further, the ranges must be “the lowest to the highest salary or hourly pay that the employer in good faith believes at the time of the posting it would pay for the advertised job, promotion, or transfer opportunity.”
As to the healthcare benefits, employers will have to disclose “the existence of healthcare benefits that employees may receive.” This disclosure must be made before an applicant’s first interview. There is no requirement to include information about healthcare benefits in job listings.
If an employer fails to disclose info about pay rates or healthcare benefits, candidates are permitted to ask about them.
2. Wage history prohibitions
The new legislation prohibits employers from:
- Screening applicants by their wage history
- Asking or requiring candidates to disclose their wage history, and
- Seeking information about a candidate’s wage history from previous employers.
“Wage history” is defined as “information related to compensation an employee has received from other or previous employment.” Further, “compensation” refers to “all forms of monetary and nonmonetary benefits an employer provides or promises to provide an employee in exchange for the employee’s services to the employer.”
3. Posting requirements
Employers will be required to post a notice in the workplace about workers’ rights under the act. The notice must be posted in “a conspicuous place in at least one location where employees congregate.”
4. Enforcement and potential costs of noncompliance
The legislation gives the District of Columbia’s attorney general (AG) the authority to investigate alleged violations, and if necessary, bring a civil action against an employer for restitution or for injunctive, compensatory, or other relief.
Moreover, if the lawsuit is successful, the AG would be entitled to reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.
Pay transparency action steps for HR
While the legislation is under review, D.C. employers may want to use this time to prepare for the pending changes to help ensure a smooth transition to pay transparency compliance.
- Review job descriptions to ensure they’re up to date.
- Assess the current salary ranges in place to determine whether adjustments are needed (or establish salary ranges if necessary).
- Make sure that the salary ranges provided are both accurate and precise. Listing overly broad ranges has prompted backlash from critics who say the tactic undermines the intent of pay transparency legislation.
- Edit job ads for current open positions to help avoid making common mistakes in job listings.