Upon request of an applicant for employment after the employer has initially offered the applicant the position, the employer must provide the minimum wage or salary for the position for which the applicant is applying. Upon request of an employee offered an internal transfer to a new position or promotion, the employer must provide the wage scale or salary range for the employee's new position. If no wage scale or salary range exists, the employer must provide the minimum wage or salary expectation set by the employer prior to posting the position, making a position transfer, or making the promotion.
There are remedies provided for violations of these provisions.
These provisions only apply to employers with 15 or more employees.
An employer must disclose in each posting for each job opening the wage scale or salary range, and a general description of all of the benefits and other compensation to be offered to the hired applicant.
Upon request of an employee offered an internal transfer to a new position or promotion, the employer must provide the hourly or salary compensation for the employee's new position, rather than the wage scale or salary range.
The committee recommended a different version of the bill than what was heard. PRO: This committee values a strong and just economy, in which people can choose the career pathway that they want and can support themselves and their families and no one is held back. We have already taken great strides in passing pay disclosure laws. This bill is a continuation of our work in pay equity. It follows other states and municipalities, including New York city and Colorado, in requiring pay transparency to applicants even before they apply. The bill will make Washington more competitive for job seekers at a time when our employers are struggling to recruit and retain workers who keep our economy moving. It will help prospective employees make decisions.
Many candidates spend hours going through rounds of interviews only to find out they can't live on the offered pay. It is also an equity issue, punishing women and people of color because they get punished for negotiating where white men are rewarded for the same thing. Fourteen other states have passed laws requiring this salary disclosure.
The committee should do research on what it takes to post this information. Many employers post thousands of positions a year. They will have to come up with systems to post the information. This will require employee hours and maintenance to keep the information up to date. It would be difficult to manage the benefit requirement but posting a link may be easier since most employers have links.
CON: HB 1696 was carefully negotiated, including negotiating the solution that the applicant gets the information when they get the offer. This bill goes way beyond the current requirements. It may require information to be public that is proprietary or confidential and unique for an employers. Smaller businesses may not be able to compete in a bidding war. It infringes on an employee's privacy rights, particularly if they are in the process of leaving a job and their old job salary is being posted. There have been articles written on the Colorado law and the ability to recruit remote workers. There could be some unintended consequences. There should be further work on this bill.
This is a burden on small businesses. Nothing defines postings. Many small businesses hang help wanted signs in the window. There are tremendous penalties. There would be a cost to L&I to notify small businesses of the requirements. Many small businesses are at 50 or fewer employees, not 15 employees. This is a big burden even for large employers. It's not just a switch that you can turn on.
OTHER: L&I identifies some costs with this bill, including for investigating complaints. Under the bill, anyone may file a complaint, not just applicants or employees. L&I suggests changing the term individual to job applicant and regarding the salary language.