Employment and Labor Law Lawyer Explains Pay Equity & Transparency Law
Nevada’s New Pay Equity and Transparency Law
Update for Employment Litigation Attorneys and Labor Lawyers
In the 81st Session of the Nevada Legislature, a total of 1,022 pieces of legislation were introduced between both houses, 515 bills made it to the Governor’s desk for final approval, and many were signed into law that affect employers, including Senate Bill 293 which addresses pay equity and transparency. Effective October 1, 2021, this new Nevada law creates new obligations for employers and specifies prohibited actions. Philip Mannelly, a construction, commercial and employment litigation attorney in our Reno office, provides the summary outline below to help employers understand what they must, may and cannot do under SB 293. Please contact Phil if you need assistance implementing this new law in your organization.
Private and Public Employers:
- SB 293 applies to private employers, public employers, and employment agencies which are defined as “any person regularly undertaking with or without compensation to procure employees for an employer or to procure for employees opportunities to work for an employer.”
- SB 293 does not apply to: (1) any employer with respect to employment outside the State of Nevada, (2) any religious corporation, association or society with respect to the employment of individuals of a particular religion to perform work connected with the carrying on of its religious activities, and (3) any business or enterprise on or near an Indian reservation with respect to any publicly announced employment practice of such business or enterprise under which a preferential treatment is given to any individual because the individual is an Indian living on or near a reservation.
Employers CANNOT:
- Seek wage or salary history.
- Rely on wage or salary history to determine whether to offer employment or rate of pay for the employee.
- Refuse to hire, interview, promote, or employ an applicant – or discriminate or retaliate against an applicant – that does not provide wage or salary history.
Employers MUST:
- Provide to an applicant that completed an interview – the wage and salary range or rate for the position.
- Provide to an existing employee up for promotion or transfer – the wage and salary range or rate for the position IF the employee applied for the position, completed an interview or was offered the position, and requested the wage or salary range or rate for the position.
Employers MAY:
- Ask an applicant or employee about their wage or salary expectations.
- Employers cannot use wage or salary expectation information to determine whether to offer employment, set the wage or salary, to discriminate, to retaliate, or refuse to hire, interview or promote the person.
Penalties for Employer Violations:
- A potential fine of $5,000 for each violation and payment of the Labor Commissioner’s fees and costs to investigate and prosecute.
- An aggrieved person also has an avenue to file a private action and sue.
About McDonald Carano
McDonald Carano has been shaping Nevada’s legal, business, and policy landscape since our founding in 1949. With more than 60 lawyers and government affairs professionals working from offices in Reno, Las Vegas, and Carson City, we are Nevada’s law firm for business. Our local, national and international clients include Fortune 500 corporations, fast-growth and mid-market companies, entrepreneurs and startups, non-profit organizations, government entities, and high-net-worth individuals. Our attorneys deliver cross-discipline, one-stop, business law and government affairs counsel. Please visit mcdonaldcarano.com
Media Contact
Mark Buckovich
mbuckovich@mcdonaldcarano.com
702.257.4559
You have chosen to send an email to McDonald Carano. The sending or receipt of this email and the information in it does not in itself create an attorney-client relationship. If you are not already a client, you should not provide us with information that you wish to have treated as privileged or confidential without first speaking to one of our lawyers. If you provide information before we confirm that you are a client and that we are willing and able to represent you, we may not be required to treat that information as privileged, confidential, or protected information, and we may be able to represent a party adverse to you.
I have read this and want to send an email.