SB 765 Summary

• Labor Commissioner gains authority to investigate and enforce equal pay violations either upon complaint or independently, including power to inspect payrolls, question employees, and collect wage claims on behalf of employees.

• Employers violating equal pay standards may be liable for wage differentials, compensatory damages, and punitive damages if violation is intentional or reckless; employees can also sue directly in court with awards including attorney's fees.

• Employers can avoid compensatory and punitive damages if they completed a good faith equal pay analysis within three years before the lawsuit and eliminated wage differentials, though back pay is limited to two years preceding the filing.

• Pregnancy-related leave and protected family medical leave cannot reduce seniority in seniority system defenses, and employers must prove pay differentials are based on legitimate factors (seniority, merit, production quality, or job-related non-sex factors).

• Violations subject to two-year statute of limitations, or three years if violation is intentional or committed with reckless indifference; discrimination is a continuing violation each time wages are paid.