Salary Transparency Act
Bill: H.R.6850 | Sponsor: Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes (D-DC)
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
Salary Transparency Act
This bill requires employers to disclose the wage or wage range in the public or internal posting of an employment opportunity. This includes the range of wages or salaries and other forms of compensation reasonably expected to be offered for the employment opportunity.
Violations of these requirement are subject to civil penalties, statutory or actual damages, and injunctive relief as appropriate.

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to require an employer providing 
     an employment opportunity to disclose the wage range for such 
employment opportunity to employees and applicants for employment, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Salary Transparency Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITIONS RELATING TO WAGE DISCLOSURES.

    (a) In General.--The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
201 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 7 the following new 
section:

``SEC. 8. REQUIREMENTS AND PROHIBITIONS RELATING TO WAGE DISCLOSURES.

    ``(a) In General.--It shall be an unlawful practice for an employer 
to--
            ``(1) fail or refuse to disclose, in any public or internal 
        posting for an employment opportunity, the wage or wage range 
        for such employment opportunity;
            ``(2) in any case in which a public or internal posting for 
        an employment opportunity has not been made available to an 
        applicant for such employment opportunity, fail or refuse to 
        disclose to such applicant the wage or wage range for such 
        employment opportunity prior to discussing compensation with 
        the applicant and at any time upon the applicant's request;
            ``(3) fail or refuse to disclose to an employee the wage or 
        wage range for the employee's position upon hire and at least 
        annually thereafter and at any time upon the employee's 
        request; or
            ``(4) refuse to interview, hire, promote, or employ an 
        employee or applicant for employment, or in any other manner 
        retaliate against an employee or applicant for employment, for 
        exercising any rights under this section.
    ``(b) Definition.--In this section, the term `wage range', with 
respect to an employment opportunity, means the range of wages, or 
salaries and other forms of compensation, that the employer providing 
such employment opportunity anticipates in good faith relying on in 
setting the pay for such employment opportunity. Such term may include 
reference to any applicable pay scale, previously determined wage range 
for the position, the actual wage range for those currently holding 
equivalent positions, or the budgeted amount for the position, as 
applicable. For the purposes of subsection (a)(3), such term may 
include reference to any applicable pay scale, previously determined 
wage range for the position, or the wage range for incumbents in 
equivalent positions, as applicable.''.
    (b) Penalties.--Section 16 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 216) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(f)(1) Any person who violates the provisions of section 8 
shall--
            ``(A) be subject to a civil penalty of $5,000 for a first 
        violation, increased by an additional $1,000 for each 
        subsequent violation, not to exceed $10,000; and
            ``(B) be liable to each employee or applicant for 
        employment who was the subject of the violation for statutory 
        damages between $1,000 and $10,000, or actual damages, 
        whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorneys' fees, and 
        shall be subject to such injunctive relief as may be 
        appropriate.
    ``(2) An action to recover the liability described in paragraph 
(1)(B) may be maintained against any employer (including a public 
agency) in any Federal or State court of competent jurisdiction by any 
one or more employees or applicants for employment for and on behalf 
of--
            ``(A) the employees or applicants for employment; and
            ``(B) other employees or applicants for employment 
        similarly situated.''.
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