What's happening
This bill amends civil service law to ensure equal pay for substantially similar work, prohibiting wage discrimination based on protected class status.
Why it matters
Expands the definition of "equal pay". to cover not just identical jobs, but also “substantially similar work,” considering skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions. This broadens protections to more employees who do comparable work, even if their job titles differ.
Explicitly defines “protected class”. to include a wide range of characteristics (e.g., age, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, military status, disability, genetic characteristics, marital status, domestic violence victim status, and more), ensuring that wage discrimination prohibitions comprehensively cover all legally recognized groups.
Clarifies what constitutes the same “establishment”. for pay comparisons: employees working for the same employer within the same geographic region (not larger than a county), factoring in local economic and population considerations, which could significantly affect how wage parity is assessed across worksites.
Strengthens legal recourse for pay discrimination. by codifying these standards into civil service law, potentially making it easier for employees in protected classes to challenge unfair pay practices and for agencies to ensure compliance.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Ensure Equal Pay Protections
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
3 Co-sponsors
History
- Substituted by S6436
- Ordered to third reading rules cal.461
- Rules report cal.461
- Reported
- Reported referred to rules
- Print number 7748a
- Amend and recommit to ways and means
- Reported referred to ways and means
- Referred to governmental employees
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Guarantee Equal Pay Protections
Signed by Governor · Sponsor Velmanette Montgomery
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
7748--A
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 17, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the civil service law, in relation to equal pay for similar work protections for protected classes
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 of section 118 of the civil service law, as added by chapter 790 of the laws of 1958, is amended to read as follows:
(c) The principle of fair and equal pay for similar work or substantially similar work, when viewed as a composite of skill, effort, and responsibility, and performed under similar working conditions, and without discrimination based on status within a protected class, shall be followed in the classification and reclassification and the allocation and reallocation of positions pursuant to this article and all positions having the same, or substantially similar, title shall be allocated to the same salary grade. For the purposes of this section, the term "protected class" includes age, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military status, sex, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, familial status, marital status, or domestic violence victim status, and any employee protected from discrimination pursuant to paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of subdivision one of section two hundred ninety-six of the executive law, and any intern protected from discrimination pursuant to section two hundred ninety-six-c of the executive law.
§ 2. Subdivision 2 of section 118 of the civil service law is amended by adding a new paragraph (c) to read as follows:
(c) To ensure that no employee with status within one or more protected class or classes shall be paid a wage at a rate less than the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11922-03-9
A. 7748--A 2
rate at which an employee without status within the same protected class or classes in the same establishment is paid for similar work or substantially similar work. For the purposes of this paragraph, employees shall be deemed to work in the same establishment if the employees work for the same employer at workplaces located in the same geographical region, no larger than a county, taking into account population distribution, economic activity, and/or the presence of municipalities.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.