Colorado has a pay disclosure law in place and New York will have one starting on May 15. Many companies feel that pay disclosure laws are unnecessary. However we need to examine why this concept was enacted in the first place. In 2019 Colorado Governor Jared Polls signed the act to address pay disparities affecting women and minorities. In addition this law prevented the following:
· Prohibiting employers from seeking prospective employees’ wage rate histories.
· Requiring employers to announce opportunities for promotion or advancement.
· Requiring employers to disclose hourly or salary compensation and benefits for each posting or job opening.
· Requiring employers to keep records of job descriptions and wage rate history for its employees.
The Colorado law covered a lot of issues and those issues were telling. To think things like employees asking for wage history, to not announcing promotional opportunities, and not revealing hour salaries actually happened to people is disturbing. I can understand companies not wanting government intervention but they should at least implement some sort of oversight committee to make sure employees are being treated and compensated fairly. Unfair compensation also ruins industries, because workers will associate it as low paying industry and not go into it. In essence disclosures laws accomplish more than just fair wages, it appears it also saves the overall destruction of certain industries. Do you think pay disclosure laws are a good way to promote fairness in the workplace or even saving an industry?