U.S. - Rhode Island pay transparency law guide
Introduction
Effective Jan. 1, 2023, Rhode Island's Equal Pay Law was amended to require all employers in the state to disclose salary range information to job applicants.
The law also restricts employers in the state from inquiring about the salary history of job applicants.
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Rhode Island Pay Transparency Requirements
Under S0270A of the Equal Pay Law, Rhode Island employers must disclose wage information to employees under the following circumstances:
- At the applicant's request, and prior to discussing compensation, an employer must provide the wage range for the position the applicant is applying for.
- An employer must provide an employee with the wage range for the employee's position both at the time of hire and when the employee moves into a new position.
- During the course of employment, and at the employee's request, an employer must provide the wage range for the employee's position.
In addition, employers may not rely on salary history when considering applicants for employment or setting salary; require salary history minimums or maximums in order to consider someone for employment; or seek the salary history of an applicant. An exception is that an employer may use salary history to support a higher wage than the one offered by the employer if wage history is voluntarily provided by the applicant for employment, without prompting.
Employment Equity Standards
Rhode Island's Pay Equity Act prohibits employers from discriminating in the payment of wages on the basis of sex and enacts an equal pay for equal work standard.
Employers may pay employees at different wage rates only if the employer shows the differential is based on legitimate Wage Influencing Factors.
An employer cannot claim the employee agreed to work for less than the wage of other comparable employees. Further, an employer cannot discharge, discriminate or retaliate against any job applicant or employee because the applicant or employee opposed an unlawful practice or became involved in an investigation relating to that unlawful practice.
The Risks of Non-Compliance
The Department of Labor & Training may investigate employers in order to enforce provisions under the Pay Equity Act of the Equal Pay Law, including pay transparency violations. If the Department finds a pay equity violation, an employer can face three types of fines:
- A fine of no more than $1,000 for the first violation;
- A fine of no more than $2,500 if there has been one violation within a five-year period;
- A fine of no more than $5,000 if there have been two violations within a seven-year period.
The Department may also order relief as necessary or even refer the matter to the Rhode Island attorney general. The law provides a brief respite to allow employers to come into compliance, providing that no penalties will be levied from Jan. 1, 2023 to Dec. 31, 2024.
In addition to potential for civil penalties, the law affords a private right of action for an individual alleging a violation of its terms. An employee or job applicant may sue an employer within three years after the occurrence, or discovery of an occurrence, of a discriminatory practice.
Any employers found liable must pay compensatory damages, special damages up to $10,000, reasonable attorneys' fees, and costs. The aggrieved employee can also receive liquidated damages up to two times the amount of unpaid wages, equity relief (reinstatement, fringe benefits, and seniority rights), and punitive damages if the employer acted with malice or reckless indifference.
How Can Trusaic Assist with Rhode Island's Equal Pay Law Requirements?
The goal of pay transparency laws is to promote practices that lead to a more equitable compensation environment. Similar to salary history ban laws, requiring pay ranges on job postings promotes fair pay practices and holds organizations accountable.
If implemented thoughtfully and strategically by an organization, pay transparency can promote a better work environment where employees believe they are paid fairly. Providing salary ranges on job postings can also positively narrow the applicant pool and improve the hiring experience.
Absent salary range information, a job candidate could go through a multi-week interview process only to discover the job offer is far below their salary expectation. This wastes the candidate's time and causes financial and reputational damage to the employer.
The task of moving toward full pay transparency can be daunting for an organization.
1. Comply - Use Trusaic's Salary Range Finder to ensure fair and competitive pay at the time of hire
Salary Range Explainability: Salary Range Finder helps you establish and post competitive and equitable pay ranges to confidently comply with pay transparency laws.
2. Correct - Use PayParity and OpportunityParity to understand, explain and resolve pay disparities:
Trusaic's pay equity software alleviates the concern of moving to full transparency by identifying the root cause of pay disparities and remedying them. Additionally, it supports the creation of equitable, compliant job postings and enables a consistent approach to pay range disclosure.
This empowers your organization to execute compensation plans with complete confidence that pay equity is at the center.
OpportunityParity™, a feature of Trusaic's workplace equity analysis software, offers a complete solution for pinpointing and remedying equity concerns in your organization's hiring, promotion, and retention processes.
Drawing from diverse global directives like the OFCCP, EEOC, EU Pay Transparency Directive, and more, it ensures fairness and inclusivity throughout your talent lifecycle, irrespective of geographical boundaries or regulatory frameworks.
How OpportunityParity Supports Your Goals:
- Improves equitable career advancement: Build equity into every aspect of your talent management process, from recruitment to retention.
- Analyzes and improves opportunity equity: Identify and address disparities in hiring, promotion, performance assessment, and retention.
- Helps you achieve workplace equity objectives: Use forecasts to help achieve your diversity objectives and accelerate progress with data-driven insights.
- Builds a culture of trust and transparency: Elevate human capital, bolster people sustainability, and fortify social responsibility metrics by fostering an environment of trust and transparency.
Leveraging Trusaic's workplace equity software suite will help ensure you remain in compliance with Rhode Island's Equal Pay Law requirements.