Rhode Island: Enacts Pay Equity Amendments with New Requirements, Effective 2023
APPLIES TO All Employers with RI Employees |
EFFECTIVE January 1, 2023 |
QUESTIONS? Contact HR On-Call |
Rhode Island’s existing Equal Pay Law will see some important updates effective January 1, 2023, incorporating new requirements for business owners. The new amendments seek to combat wage discrimination by refining wage differentials, increasing wage transparency, and prohibiting employers from relying on wage history information when making hiring decisions.
Wage differentials. Under the original Equal Pay Law, employers cannot discriminate in the payment of wages based on sex. The new statute amends this provision to prohibit employers from paying any employees less than another employee of another race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, age, or country of origin where both employees perform comparable work. “Comparable work” is defined as substantially similar in skill, effort, and responsibility, and performed under similar working conditions. If a wage differential exists, employers must show the differential is based on an accepted factor. Permissible factors for differentials include things like a seniority or merit system, geographic location impacting cost of living, education, training, or experience.