New law Wage Transparency SB 1162

[Johnny Quality]

The first would encompass jobs like factory floor associates, call center employees, material planners, accounting, etc. The second category would include design engineers, architects, etc.

I think Netflix has best categorized the two types of jobs, of which I do agree with their categorization. The picture below is taken from this slideshow.



Back to the topic I cannot and have not seen a situation in my - albeit short - what benefits there would be if everyone in the organization had access to the salary of everyone else in the organization. However I can and have witnessed the resentment of two employees with the same title having, or believing, a difference in salary.

 

[Michael_M]

This law seems to mostly address pay discrepancies stemming from "race, ethnicity, and sex" as stated multiple times in the bill text. There's nothing prohibiting you from paying inspector A more than inspector B based on productivity/negotiations/whatever, or am I missing something?

I don't know about other places, but in the United States, the threat or fear of being sued is high. One of the common percepts is Human Resources is there for the employee. This is an incorrect statement: In the United States, Human Resources is there to prevent the company from being sued. This real threat or fear makes companies institute policies that seem draconian. IMO, this is mostly because the cost of a law suit is 'the price of doing business' but it instantly becomes profit if they never get sued.

 

[Sam.F]

Yes i can pay different wages but......

Expansion of Pay Scale Disclosures Upon Request. The law requires that an employer, upon request, provide an employee the pay scale for the position in which the employee is currently employed.

 

[Mike S.]

Today i interviewed a new inspector and he wanted $$ per hour, if i hire him i will need to pay the rest of my inspectors the same wage as the new guy.

I hope no one misunderstands my position. I am all about fair pay. And earning what you are paid.

I have gone to HR to fight for my employees countless times, and even went above HR's head when they refused me to a VP, and when that did not work I went to the President (and got what I was asking for!).

Within the past 3 months I spent literally weeks fighting for fair pay for a young minority female who works for me; she deserved a significant raise based on performance and new tasks taken on, and eventually she got it. This is a key responsibility of managers/leaders, IMO - taking care of their employees. Once upon a time, long ago in a faraway land, someone did the same for me. I just do not believe government should be involved.

 

[Tidge]

The law also defines the "pay scale" to be disclosed to applicants/employees as a reasonably expected range, which I interpret as not being inflexible and in turn meaning that it isn't illegal for an employer to go above or under it depending on the specific situation, granted it isn't based on racial, ethnical and gender discrimination.

The "reasonably expected range" is a bit of double-edged sword, but it will only cut in the employees' favor if employees are able (and willing) to discuss their salaries. It is common to have a rather wide range for salaries (for a class of jobs) yet have the bolus of employees with that job grouped at the lowest percentile. I find this to be a very deceptive (but legal) mechanism used at many employers.

 

[FRA 2 FDA]

I think the real answer here is that we need a change in culture. I've thought so many times throughout my life that it's very weird that people are so against talking about money. I have some very close friends with whom the exchange of VERY personal VERY private and sometimes even sensitive information is freely exchanged and yet money seems to be still a taboo subject. If people were more willing to exchange salary information with their coworkers, wouldn't we all win in a company that pays based on valid reasons? If I tell my coworker who does the same job what I make and she makes less and wants to know how I got that much and I say that I was never late, that I took on two extra responsibilities last year and that I came up with and executed a way to save the company a lot of money and I used those things in my negotiation for a raise, doesn't that spark her motivation to earn more in similar ways? This benefits her and the company. It should only be the companies that base salaries on shady things like gender or being buddies with the owner that would have to worry about employees exchanging this kind of info. It's also hard to know what to ask for (or accept) as a starting salary particularly if you're new to the industry or position level. If I apply for a new job in a new industry and have no way of knowing what others in the company, the industry, and similar positions elsewhere make, how do I know if their offer is fair or if they are lowballing me hard? If I'm in a pinch and can't risk losing the offer and take way too little, I'm starting at a severe disadvantage. But if I knew, I'd feel far more comfortable asking for more (what's fair). And no, I don't think the government should get involved and no I don't think everyone should be paid the same. I think if we just stop NOT talking about money it will eventually cause a noticeable shift in the right direction.

 

[Johnnymo62]

I think the ASQ still does a detailed annual salary survey. I can't remember if you have to be a member to be able to read it.

 

[Swimming In The Soup]

I would be more interested in de-coupling health care insurance from the labor market. Just sayin.

 

[Ed Panek]

There are competing goals between businesses and labor.

Business wants to obtain labor resources at the cheapest possible rate. Businesses try to prevent conversations about salary because its a financial risk. If they win salary negotiations 90% of the time, that 10% number getting out is going to cost them a lot of $.

In a field like sales though that problem is solved by performance directly.

 

[Mike S.]

Maybe government should also force businesses to publish their quotes/bids on various jobs and their pricing structures, to make it more fair. (sarcasm)