An Update from Your NFIB/Massachusetts State Director

Several proposals to dramatically alter the state’s employment laws advanced but did not reach the Governor’s desk. Laws to restrict the use of credit reports in the hiring process, to make the collection of debt more difficult, and to make employers liable for the wage violations at a firm with which they did business fell short of becoming law.

Also, a Senate-passed paid family and medical leave law stalled in the House. It would have granted workers a percentage of their salary up to $1000 per week for 26 weeks for the employee’s own illness and for 16 weeks to care for a family member. With employer-paid benefits, the Massachusetts proposal would have made the Commonwealth an outlier even among the limited number of states that currently mandate paid leave, all of whom have employee funded programs. Massachusetts small businesses cannot afford additional state mandates on top of health care mandates and sick leave mandates and be expected continue to create jobs and grow opportunities as they have done for decades.  

Massachusetts did pass pay equity legislation that seeks to ensure women are paid the same as men for comparable work. Massachusetts has had a gender equity law since 1945 but many studies show that women are still today paid less than men for similar jobs. The new law seeks to implement strategies for attaining wage equity quicker. The law requires equal pay for “comparable work” as opposed to “equal work”. The law restricts employer access to wage history during the hiring process to stop any perpetuation of prior wage discrimination. The law prohibits workplace restrictions on employees discussing and comparing wages.

Importantly for employers, the new pay equity law contains a provision allowing employers to perform self-evaluations of their payroll. Completing the self-evaluation process, together with providing evidence of progress on eliminating any wage inequities based on gender, will protect employers from financial liabilities arising from a lawsuit alleging wage discrimination.
The pay equity legislation provides another worry for small business owners and additional regulatory compliance costs, but written compensation policies and self-evaluation of current compensation practices should provide an easy path toward compliance with both the old and new pay equity laws.