Rancho Mesa's Alyssa Burley and Media Communications & Client Services Specialist Lauren Stumpf discuss what employers need to know about the recently passed pay transparency law.

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RM365 HRAdvantage™ portal

Director/Host: Alyssa Burley

Guest: Lauren Stumpf

Producer/Editor: Megan Lockhart

Music: "Home" by JHS Pedals, “News Room News” by Spence

transcript

[Introduction Music]

Alyssa Burley: Hi! This is Alyssa Burley with Rancho Mesa’s Media Communications and Client Services Department. Thank you for listening to today’s top Rancho Mesa news brought to you by our safety and risk management network, StudioOne™. Welcome back, everyone. My guest is Lauren Stumpf, Media Communications and Client Services Specialist with Rancho Mesa. Today we will discuss what employers should know about pay transparency. Lauren, welcome to the show.

Lauren Stumpf: Thank you Alyssa, it’s good to be back.

AB: Now, pay transparency between employers and employees is a hot topic right now, and something that we’re seeing a lot more of. Lauren, in case our listeners have not yet heard of the term, can you tell us a little bit about pay transparency?

LS: Of course. So, pay transparency is the idea that employers should be open, or transparent, about what they pay their employees, and how they decide on compensation for specific roles. More employees are wanting clarity about their own pay and how it compares to their peers. And according to HR and recruiting experts, employees may leave or give less effort at work if they feel they’re not being paid fairly. Also job recruiters are finding that people searching for new job opportunities are wanting to see pay ranges on job postings, and some do not even apply if that information isn’t available.

AB: For some companies pay transparency is no longer an option. There are certain state and local laws that are now requiring pay transparency. If these laws apply- or may soon apply- to our listeners, what are some of the key things that they should be aware of?

LS: So far at the state level, Colorado, California, and Washington have passed laws requiring that employers post pay ranges within job posting and ads, while New York is on the brink (just waiting for the governor to sign). What these laws have in common is a new requirement that certain organizations disclose pay ranges in job postings. Employers should also be aware that employees already have a legal right to discuss their pay. Under federal law, employers may not keep their non-supervisory employees from discussing their wages with each other. In addition to rights under federal law, many employees (including supervisors) have protections under state laws that allow them to freely discuss their wages. It is recommended that employers immediately eliminate any policy telling employees that discussion of wages is discouraged or prohibited, or that wages are confidential.

AB: And that’s a good reason for people to use our HR Portal and generate their employee handbooks. Okay, so, what would be some of the advantages for businesses to have pay transparency?

LS: First off, it can save them time and money on recruiting. Hiring managers can waste a lot of time on interviews if they wait till multiple interviews in to finally reveal the salary they are expecting to pay, only to learn that it does not meet the expectations of the people that they are interviewing. Secondly, job postings that include pay transparency are shown to have significantly more applicants than those that do not. In the tight labor market that we’re experiencing right now, especially in the construction industries, employers should be willing to try anything that will set them above the rest. Lastly pay transparency also encourages, and makes it easier for, organizations to comply with equal pay laws.

AB: Yeah, and Lauren, thank you so much for educating our listeners on pay transparency. For additional resources on this topic, our clients can visit our RM365 HRAdvantage portal. Lauren, thank you for joining me in StudioOne™.

[Outro Music]

LS: Thanks Alyssa!

AB: This is Alyssa Burley with Rancho Mesa. Thanks for tuning in to our latest episode produced by StudioOne™. For more information, visit us at ranchomesa.com and subscribe to our weekly newsletter.