...nearly half of all workers 

nationally reported that they 

were either contractually 

forbidden or strongly 

discouraged from discussing 

their pay with their 

colleagues....

PAY SECRECY

In 2014, women who worked year-round, fulltime earned seventy-nine cents (79¢) for every 

dollar their male counterparts earned.1

 Women’s 

median earnings are lower than men’s in nearly 

all occupations, whether they work in occupations 

predominantly held by women, occupations 

predominantly held by men, or occupations with a 

more even composition of men and women.2

Pay secrecy policies serve to perpetuate these 

disparities. In 2010, nearly half of all workers 

nationally reported that they were either contractually 

forbidden or strongly discouraged from discussing 

their pay with their colleagues, according to results 

from a 2010 Institute for Women’s Policy Research/

Rockefeller Survey of Economic Security.3

 Prohibiting 

or discouraging any discussion of wages in the 

workplace is far more widespread in the private than 

in the public sector.4

 In this survey, 23.1 percent of 

private sector workers reported that discussion of 

wages and salaries was formally prohibited and an 

additional 38.1 percent reported that such discussion 

was discouraged by managers.5

On April 8, 2014, President Barack Obama issued 

an executive order prohibiting federal contractors, 

subcontractors and federally assisted construction 

contractors from discharging or discriminating against 

any employee or applicant because the employee or 

applicant inquired about, discussed, or disclosed his 

or her compensation or the compensation of other 

employees or applicants. The Administration has also 

endorsed the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would 

enable workers to discuss compensation without fear 

of retaliation.

Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) 

protects non-supervisory employees who are covered 
Issue brief

Page 2

by the Act from employer retaliation when they discuss 

their wages or working conditions with their colleagues 

as part of a concerted activity to improve them, even if 

there is no union or other formal organization involved 

in the effort. These employee rights are enforced 

by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). 

Nevertheless, the NLRA does not address all situations 

where employers prohibit or discourage employees 

from discussing their pay with their colleagues.6

The 1980s saw the introduction of the first two state 

laws to address employer wage secrecy policies. 

In 1982, Michigan enacted a law which prohibited 

employers from doing any of the following: require 

as a condition of employment non-disclosure by an 

employee of his or her wages; require an employee 

to sign a waiver or other document which purports 

to deny an employee the right to disclose his or 

her wages; and discharge, formally discipline, or 

otherwise discriminate against an employee for job 

advancement on the basis of having disclosed his 

or her wages. In 1985, California enacted a similar 

law. Between 2000 and 2016, California expanded 

its law and twelve additional states--Colorado, 

Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, 

Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, 

Oregon, and Vermont—and the District of Columbia 

enacted “pay secrecy” laws. The following includes 

the language of effective protections against pay 

secrecy.7

 Though Maryland’s law does not take effect 

until October 1, 2016, it mirrors other states’ existing 

legislation to prohibit an employer from taking certain 

actions concerning the disclosure or discussion of an 

employee’s wages.

For more information about current federal 

and state-level pay transparency protections, 

coverage, and available remedies, visit the Equal 

Pay and Pay Transparency Protections map at 

dol.gov/wb/equalpay/equalpaymap.htm
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CALIFORNIA

Cal. Lab. Code § 232

No employer may do any of the following: 

 (a) Require, as a condition of employment, that an 

employee refrain from disclosing the amount of his or 

her wages.

 (b) Require an employee to sign a waiver or other 

document that purports to deny the employee the right

to disclose the amount of his or her wages.

 (c) Discharge, formally discipline, or otherwise 

discriminate against an employee who discloses the 

amount of his or her wages.

Cal. Lab. Code § 1197.5(j)(1)

An employer shall not discharge, or in any manner 

discriminate or retaliate against, any employee by reason 

of any action taken by the employee to invoke or assist in 

any manner the enforcement of this section. An employer 

shall not prohibit an employee from disclosing the 

employee’s own wages, discussing the wages of others, 

inquiring about another employee’s wages, or aiding or 

encouraging any other employee to exercise his or her 

rights under this section. Nothing in this section creates an 

obligation to disclose wages.

COLORADO 

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-34-402(1)(i) 

(1) It shall be a discriminatory or unfair employment 

practice:

 (i) Unless otherwise permitted by federal law, for an 

employer to discharge, discipline, discriminate 

against, coerce, intimidate, threaten, or interfere 

with any employee or other person because the 

employee inquired about, disclosed, compared, 

or otherwise discussed the employee’s wages; to 

require as a condition of employment nondisclosure 

by an employee of his or her wages; or to require an 

employee to sign a waiver or other document that 

purports to deny an employee the right to disclose 

his or her wage information. This paragraph (i) shall 

not apply to employers who are exempt from the 

provisions of the “National Labor Relations Act”, 29 

U.S.C. sec. 151 et seq.

CONNECTICUT

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-40z(b)-(c)

(b) No employer shall:

 (1) Prohibit an employee from disclosing or discussing 

the amount of his or her wages or the wages of 

another employee of such employer that have been 

disclosed voluntarily by such other employee;

 (2) Prohibit an employee from inquiring about the wages 

of another employee of such employer;

 (3) Require an employee to sign a waiver or other 

document that denies the employee his or her right 

to disclose or discuss the amount of his or her wages 

or the wages of another employee of such employer 

that have been disclosed voluntarily by such other 

employee;

 (4) Require an employee to sign a waiver or other 

document that denies the employee his or her right to 

inquire about the wages of another employee of such 

employer;
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 (5) Discharge, discipline, discriminate against, retaliate 

against or otherwise penalize any employee who 

discloses or discusses the amount of his or her wages

or the wages of another employee of such employer 

that have been disclosed voluntarily by such other 

employee; or

 (6) Discharge, discipline, discriminate against, retaliate 

against or otherwise penalize any employee who 

inquires about the wages of another employee of 

such employer.

(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require any 

employer or employee to disclose the amount of 

 wages paid to any employee.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C. Code § § 32-1452 and 1453 

 § 32-1452

An employer shall not:

 (1) Require, as a condition of employment, that an 

employee refrain from inquiring about, disclosing, 

comparing, or otherwise discussing the employee’s

wages or the wages of another employee;

 (2) Discharge, discipline, interfere with, or otherwise 

retaliate against an employee who inquires about, 

discloses, compares, or otherwise discusses 

the employee’s wages or the wages of another 

employee or is believed by the employer to have 

done so; or

 (3) Prohibit or attempt to prohibit an employee from 

lodging a complaint, or testifying, assisting, or 

participating in an investigation or proceeding, 

related to a violation of this act.

§ 32-1453

(a) An employer may prohibit an employee with regular 

 access to information regarding the wages of other 

employees in the course of the employee’s work, such 

as a human resources employee, from sharing such 

information, unless the disclosure is in furtherance of 

or response to an investigation, action, or hearing, or 

there is a legal obligation for the employer to furnish 

the information.

(b) Nothing in this chapter shall require:

 (1) An employer to disclose the wages of an employee 

in response to an inquiry by another employee; or

 (2) An employee to disclose his or her wages in 

response to an inquiry by another employee.

ILLINOIS

820 Ill. Comp. Stat. § 112/10(b) 

It is unlawful for any employer to interfere with, restrain, 

or deny the exercise of or the attempt to exercise any 

right provided under this Act [Equal Pay Act of 2003]. It 

is unlawful for any employer to discharge or in any other 

manner discriminate against any individual for inquiring 

about, disclosing, comparing, or otherwise discussing the 

employee’s wages or the wages of any other employee, 

or aiding or encouraging any person to exercise his or her 

rights under this Act.

LOUISIANA

La. Rev. Stat. § 23:664D

It shall be unlawful for an employer to interfere with, 

restrain, or deny the exercise of, or attempt to exercise, 

any right provided under this Chapter. It shall be unlawful 

for any employer to discriminate, retaliate, or take any 

adverse employment action, including but not limited to 

termination or in any other manner discriminate against 

any employee for inquiring about, disclosing, comparing, or 

otherwise discussing the employee’s wages or the wages 

of any other employee, or aiding or encouraging any other 

employee to exercise his or her rights under this Chapter.
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MAINE

Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 26 § 628 

An employer may not discharge or discriminate against any 

employee by reason of any action taken by such employee 

to invoke or assist in any manner the enforcement of this 

section. An employer may not prohibit an employee from 

disclosing the employee’s own wages or from inquiring 

about another employee’s wages if the purpose of the 

disclosure or inquiry is to enforce the rights granted by this 

section. Nothing in this section creates an obligation to 

disclose wages.

MICHIGAN 

Mich. Comp. Laws § 408.483a(1)(a)-(c) 

An employer shall not do any of the following:

 (a) Require as a condition of employment nondisclosure 

by an employee of his or her wages.

 (b) Require an employee to sign a waiver or other 

document which purports to deny an employee the 

right to disclose his or her wages.

 (c) Discharge, formally discipline, or otherwise 

discriminate against for job advancement an 

employee who discloses his or her wages.

MINNESOTA

Minn. Stat. § 181.172 (a)-(d) 

(a) An employer shall not:

 (1) require nondisclosure by an employee of his or her 

wages as a condition of employment;

 (2) require an employee to sign a waiver or other 

document which purports to deny an employee the 

right to disclose the employee’s wages; or

 (3) take any adverse employment action against an 

employee for disclosing the employee’s own wages 

or discussing another employee’s wages which have 

been disclosed voluntarily.

(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to:

 (1) create an obligation on any employer or employee to 

disclose wages;

 (2) permit an employee, without the written consent of 

the employer, to disclose proprietary information, 

trade secret information, or information that is 

otherwise subject to a legal privilege or protected by 

law;

 (3) diminish any existing rights under the National Labor 

Relations Act under United States Code, title 29; or

 (4) permit the employee to disclose wage information of 

other employees to a competitor of their employer.

(c) An employer that provides an employee handbook to its 

employees must include in the handbook notice of 

 employee rights and remedies under this section.

(d) An employer may not retaliate against an employee for 

asserting rights or remedies under this section.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

N.H. Rev. Stat. § 275:38-a(I)(b)-(II) 

I. No employer shall discharge or in any other manner 

discriminate against any employee because he or she:

 (b) Inquired about, discussed, or disclosed his or her 

wages or those of another employee.

II. This section shall not apply to any employee who has 

access to the wage information of other employees 

as a part of such employee’s essential job functions 

who discloses the wages of such other employees to 

individuals who do not otherwise have access to such 

information, unless such disclosure is in response to a 

complaint or charge or in furtherance of an investigation, 

proceeding, hearing, or action under RSA 275:41-a 

including an investigation conducted by the employer. 

Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the 

rights of an employee provided under any other 

provision of law.
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N.H. Rev. Stat. § 275:41-b(I)-(II)

I. No employer shall require the following as a condition of 

employment:

 (a) That an employee refrain from disclosing the 

amount of his or her wages.

 (b) That an employee sign a waiver or other document 

that purports to deny the employee the right to 

disclose the amount of his or her wages, salary, or 

paid benefits.

II. No employer shall discharge, formally discipline, or 

otherwise discriminate against an employee who 

discloses the amount of his or her wages, salary, or paid 

benefits.

NEW JERSEY

N.J. Rev. Stat. § 10:5-12(r)

12. It shall be an unlawful employment practice, or, as the 

case may be, an unlawful discrimination:

 r. For any employer to take reprisals against any 

employee for requesting from any other employee 

or former employee of the employer information 

regarding the job title, occupational category, and 

rate of compensation, including benefits, of any 

employee or former employee of the employer, 

or the gender, race, ethnicity, military status, or 

national origin of any employee or former employee 

of the employer, regardless of whether the request 

was responded to, if the purpose of the request for 

the information was to assist in investigating the 

possibility of the occurrence of, or in taking of legal 

action regarding, potential discriminatory treatment 

concerning pay, compensation, bonuses, other 

compensation, or benefits. Nothing in this subsection 

shall be construed to require an employee to 

disclose such information about the employee herself 

to any other employee or former employee of the 

employer or to any authorized representative of the 

other employee or former employee.

NEW YORK

N.Y. Lab. Law § 194(4)(a)-(e)

 4. (a) No employer shall prohibit an employee from 

inquiring about, discussing, or disclosing the 

wages of such employee or another employee.

 (b) An employer may, in a written policy provided to 

all employees, establish reasonable workplace 

and workday limitations on the time, place and 

manner for inquires about, discussion of, or the 

disclosure of wages. Such limitations shall be 

consistent with standards promulgated by the 

commissioner and shall be consistent with all 

other state and federal laws. Such limitations may 

include prohibiting an employee from discussing or 

disclosing the wages of another employee without 

such employee’s prior permission.

 (c) Nothing in this subdivision shall require an 

employee to disclose his or her wages. The failure 

of an employee to adhere to such reasonable 

limitations in such written policy shall be an 

affirmative defense to any claims made against an 

employer under this subdivision, provided that any 

adverse employment action taken by the employer 

was for failure to adhere to such reasonable 

limitations and not for mere inquiry, discussion 

or disclosure of wages in accordance with such 

reasonable limitations in such written policy.

 (d) This prohibition shall not apply to instances in 

which an employee who has access to the wage 

information of other employees as a part of such 

employee’s essential job functions discloses the 

wages of such other employees to individuals who 

do not otherwise have access to such information, 

unless such disclosure is in response to a complaint 

or charge, or in furtherance of an investigation, 

proceeding, hearing, or action under this chapter, 

including an investigation conducted by the 

employer.

 (e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit 

the rights of an employee provided under any other 

provision of law or collective bargaining agreement.
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OREGON

Or. Rev. Stat. § 659A.355(1)-(2)

(1) It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer 

to discharge, demote or suspend, or to discriminate 

or retaliate against, an employee with regard to 

promotion, compensation or other terms, conditions or 

privileges of employment because the employee has:

 (a) Inquired about, discussed or disclosed in any 

manner the wages of the employee or of another 

employee; or

 (b) Made a charge, filed a complaint or instituted, or 

caused to be instituted, an investigation, proceeding, 

hearing or action based on the disclosure of wage 

information by the employee.

(2) This section does not apply to an employee who has 

access to wage information of employees as part 

of the job functions of the employee’s position and 

discloses the wages of those employees to individuals 

not authorized access to the information, unless the 

disclosure is in response to a charge or complaint or is 

in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing 

or action, including but not limited to an investigation 

conducted by the employer.

VERMONT

Vt. Stat. tit. 21, § 495(a)(7)(B)(i)-(ii), (8)(D)

 (7)(B)(i) No employer may do any of the following:

 (I) Require, as a condition of employment, that 

an employee refrain from disclosing the 

amount of his or her wages or from inquiring 

about or discussing the wages of other 

employees.

 (II) Require an employee to sign a waiver or 

other document that purports to deny the 

employee the right to disclose the amount 

of his or her wages or to inquire about or 

discuss the wages of other employees.

 (ii) Unless otherwise required by law, an employer 

may prohibit a human resources manager from 

disclosing the wages of other employees.

 (8) Retaliation prohibited. An employer, employment 

agency, or labor organization shall not discharge or in 

any other manner discriminate against any employee 

because the employee:

 (D) has disclosed his or her wages or has inquired 

about or discussed the wages of other 

employees.
Endnotes

Page 8

1

 Current Population Reports: Income and Poverty in the United States: 2014, U.S. Census Bureau, September 2015.

2 Pay Secrecy and Wage Discrimination, Institute for Women’s Policy Research, June 2011.

3 Ibid.

4 Ibid.

5 Ibid.

6

 Combating Punitive Pay Secrecy Policies, National Women’s Law Center, April 2012.

7

 Additional information including coverage and available remedies may be found within the statute.

CONTACT US

Website: www.dol.gov/wb/

E-mail: Womens.Bureau@dol.gov

Mail:

WOMEN’S BUREAU

U.S. Department of Labor

200 Constitution Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20210

Phone: 1-800-827-5335 or (202) 693-6710

June 2016