Colorado equal pay bill passes General Assembly after years of trying

Equal pay legislation has gained momentum as Democratic numbers have increased in the Capitol, further evidence of what Democratic control of the Colorado Senate means. In 2016, there was an equal pay bill that only would have applied to companies of more than 50 employees that receive state contracts. It passed the House on a narrow vote but died in the Senate. So, too, did an equal pay bill introduced last year. Both times, Republicans controlled the upper chamber.

“I have daughters,” Rep. Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, a Denver Democrat and sponsor of the latest bill, told reporters this week. “And we’re really hopeful we’re not having this conversation in another 30 years when they’re my age. We’re doing this for our future generations.”

The bill allows employees who believe they are being paid less due to their gender to file a civil lawsuit within two years. Employers found to have paid someone less due to their gender must pay the amount of money the employee would have made the past three years if there had not been discrimination.

The bill also prevents employers from asking job applicants for their salary history.

“It’s not so much of a woman thing,” said Rep. Perry Buck, a Windsor Republican and opponent of the bill, during House debate Friday. “I don’t believe in the women as being victims. You look at how many are graduating with degrees. Women are on a movement and look at the legislature. There is absolutely, definitely equal pay here.”



https://www.denverpost.com/2019/04/27/equal-pay-legislature-polis-colorado/