Pennsylvania Employment Law Update – July 2018

Equal Pay for Commonwealth Employees

On June 6, 2018, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed Executive Order 2018-18-03 prohibiting commonwealth agencies from:

• Inquiring about a job applicant’s current compensation or compensation history at any stage during the hiring process; or
• Requesting that an applicant disclose current salary or salary history information. Applicants may also refuse to disclose current compensation level and/or history without negative repercussions by the agency in its employment decisions.

The order requires that compensation be determined through required job responsibilities, range of compensation, and applicant’s knowledge, skills, competencies, experience, compensation requests, or bona fide factor other than sex. However, this does not apply where compensation is based on:

• A collective-bargaining agreement;
• A seniority system;
• A system of merit pay increases; or
• A system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of production, sales goals, and incentives.

The order also requires that all job openings clearly disclose the position’s pay scale and pay range, and that the agency’s employment website (with the job opening) state that an applicant is not required to furnish current or prior compensation at any stage during the hiring process.

The executive order is effective September 4, 2018.

Read PA E.O. 2018-18-03