What's happening
This bill establishes a state policy for fair and equal pay for equivalent value of work, prohibiting wage discrimination based on sex, race, or national origin in New York public employment.
Why it matters
Broader Definition of Compensation. The bill expands the definition of “wages” to include not just base pay, but also bonuses, commissions, awards, tips, and non-monetary compensation with economic value, ensuring that all forms of pay are scrutinized for equity, not just salary.
Systematic Pay Equity Audits. It mandates regular (every five years) audits and reporting by all local civil service administrations to identify job titles where pay disparities exist for equivalent work, increasing transparency and accountability in public sector compensation.
Objective Job Evaluation Standards. The bill requires the state commission to create clear, standardized methods for evaluating whether different job titles are of “equivalent value,” emphasizing the evaluation of skills, effort, responsibility, and working conditions—especially in jobs predominantly held by women or minorities—to prevent undervaluing their work.
Corrective Action Without Wage Reductions. When disparities are found, employers must correct them without reducing anyone’s wages, protecting employees from pay cuts as a means of achieving compliance and ensuring overall salary improvements rather than downward adjustments.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Guarantee Equal Pay Statewide
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
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History
- Referred to civil service and pensions
- Referred to civil service and pensions
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1553
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 10, 2017
Introduced by Sen. AVELLA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
AN ACT to amend the civil service law, in relation to implementing a state policy of fair and equal pay for equivalent value of work
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The civil service law is amended by adding a new section 28 to read as follows:
§ 28. Policy of the state. 1. It is the policy of New York state and all political subdivisions thereof to comply with the letter and spirit of the federal "Equal Pay Act of 1963," Pub. L. 88-38 (29 U.S.C. § 206) which requires that employees of both sexes receive equal pay for equal work, the federal "Civil Rights Act of 1964," Pub. L. 88-352 (42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2) which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race or national origin in all terms of employment, article fifteen of the executive law and section forty-c of the civil rights law, which prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, race or national origin in all terms of employment. Consistent with these laws, it is the policy of the state to ensure a fair, non-biased compensation structure for all employees in which sex, race or national origin is not a consideration either directly or indirectly in determining the proper wages for a title or in determining the pay for any individual or group of employees. For the purpose of this section, the terms "wages" and "wage rates" shall include all compensation in any form that an employer provides to employees in payment for work done or services rendered, including but not limited to base pay, bonuses, commissions, awards, tips, or various forms of non-monetary compensation if provided in lieu of or in addition to monetary compensation and that have economic value to an employee. In order to attract unusual merit and ability to the service of the political subdivisions of New York, to stimulate higher efficiency among the personnel, to provide skilled leadership in administrative departments,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00993-01-7
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to reward merit and to insure to the people and the taxpayers of the state of New York the highest return in services for the necessary costs of government, it is the policy of the state to provide equal pay for equal and similar work and for equivalent value of work, and regular increases in pay in proper proportion to increase of ability, increase of output and increase of quality of work demonstrated in service. For the purpose of this section, the term "political subdivision" is consistent with the definition in section one hundred of the general municipal law.
2. The principle of fair and equal pay for similar work and for equivalent value of work shall be followed in the classification and reclassification and the allocation and reallocation of positions and all positions having the same title shall be allocated to the same salary grade. Equivalent value of work shall mean titles or position classifications that are equal within the meaning of the "Equal Pay Act of 1963", Pub. L. 88-38 (29 U.S.C. 206(d)), or titles or position classifications that are dissimilar but whose requirements are equivalent, when viewed as a composite of skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions. The principle of fair and equal pay for equivalent value of work requires that consideration of sex, race or national origin shall not influence directly or indirectly the establishment of wages.
It shall not be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to pay different wage rates to employees, where such payments are made pursuant to:
(a) a bona fide seniority or merit system;
(b) the geographic location of the job; or
(c) any other bona fide factor other than sex, race or national origin, provided however, that such factor does not result in discrimination based on sex, race or national origin.
Nothing set forth in this section shall be construed to impede, infringe or diminish the rights and benefits which accrue to employees through collective bargaining agreements, or otherwise diminish the integrity of the existing collective bargaining relationship.
3. The commission shall promulgate regulations specifying the methodology for determining equivalent value of work based on skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions. Any methodology prescribed by the commission, such as a systematic point evaluation system, shall ensure that comparison systems do not ignore or undervalue the worth of jobs where women and minorities are disproportionately represented. For the purposes of this section, a segregated title shall constitute any title in which the total percentage of employees in the title of a particular sex, race or national origin is equal to or greater than one hundred twenty percent of the percentage of that sex, race or national origin in the employ of the political subdivision. The department shall, upon the request of any local civil service administration, render service or technical advice and assistance relative to the position classification and pay equity compensation assessment of offices and employments under the jurisdiction of such local civil service administration pursuant to subdivision one of section twenty-three of this title.
4. By October first, two thousand eighteen, and every five years thereafter, all local civil service administrations pursuant to section fifteen of this title, shall submit to the president of the commission a list showing, by negotiating unit and for management/confidential employees, those segregated titles for which a disparity exists based on the equivalent value of the work. The president of the commission shall
S. 1553 3
compile the lists provided to them by the local civil service administrations and, by January first, two thousand nineteen, and every five years thereafter, submit to the legislature and the governor's office of employee relations, a list showing, by negotiating unit and for management/confidential employees, those segregated titles for which a disparity exists based on the equivalent value of the work as reported by the local civil service administrations.
5. When a local civil service administration creates new titles or, because of mergers or takeovers, transfers workforce from one title to another title, it shall re-submit to the president of the commission a list of any segregated titles for which a disparity exists based on the equivalent value of work, who will then submit the list to the legislature.
6. Upon the discovery of the existence of segregated titles for which a disparity exists based on the equivalent value of work, the employer and the local civil service administration shall correct the disparity. An employer who is in violation of this section, as determined by the commission, shall not, in order to comply with this section, reduce the wages of any employee or reduce the wage rate for any position.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the civil service law, in relation to implementing a state policy of fair and equal pay for equivalent value of work
Purpose or general idea of bill
The purpose of this bill is to ensure that public employees, regardless of sex, race or national origin working in positions of comparable worth are paid equally.
Summary of provisions
Adds a new section 28 to:
1. Define intent of New York state and its political subdivisions to comply with the federal "Equal Pay Act of 1963" and "Civil Rights Act of 1964" and to state its intent to ensure a fair and non-biased wage structure for all employees regardless of sex, race or national origin.
2. Define how comparable value of job titles shall be determined, what exceptions are allowed and the interaction with collective bargaining.
3. Authorize the Civil Service Commission to develop regulations for determining equivalent value of work; define the segregation of job titles; and provide technical assistance to political subdivisions.
4. Require local civil service administrations to report to the President of the Civil Service Commission every five years on those segregated titles for which wage disparity exists.
5. Require local civil service administrations to report to the President of the Civil Service Commission whenever they create new titles and find that a segregated title exists.
6. Require an employer to correct the existence of segregated titles.
Justification
The National Committee on Pay Equity found the median salary of women working full-time was 78.3 percent of men's median income in 2013. This shows a narrowing of the wage gap by less than half a percent per year since the Federal Pay Equity Act was signed in 1963. Over a working lifetime, this wage disparity costs the average woman an estimated $700,000 to $2 million, not including the negative impact the difference also has on both Social Security and pension benefits for women. With the overwhelming number of women in the workplace that have the same education, skills and experience as their male counterparts, the fact that women make 77 percent of their male counterparts is startling and unjustifiable.
In today's workplace female-dominated fields tend to be under-valued in relation to comparable jobs that are typically held by men. Administrative assistants tend to be paid less than custodians, emergency services operators less than fire dispatchers. This is unacceptable. Jobs traditionally held by women Still pay less than those typically held by men, and when you examine the discrepancies between men and women of color, the rates are even more alarming. In 2008, African American women earned 68 percent of men's, and Latinos earned 58 percent of Latino men. This legislation will ensure that public sector jobs that have equivalent value receive equal pay and ensure a fair, non-biased compensation structure for all employees in which sex, race or national origin is not a consideration either
directly or indirectly in determining the proper compensation for any individual or group of employees.
Prior legislative history
2016: S.4936-A/A1574-A Third Reading 2015: S.4936/A1574 Passed Assembly 2014: A.1729A 02/03/14 Third Reading 2013: A.1729 04/16/13 Passed Assembly 2011-12: A.6448 Passed Assembly 2009-10: A.6712 Passed Assembly 2007-08: A.957 Passed Assembly 2006:. A.9466 Passed Assembly 2005: A.1470 Passed Assembly 2003-04: A.6237 Passed Assembly 2001-02: A.7012 Passed Assembly
Fiscal implications for state and local governments
None where employees in positions of comparable worth are paid the same salary or rate.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.