(TRENTON) – Legislation sponsored by Assembly Democrats Pamela Lampitt, Gabriela Mosquera and Gordon Johnson to help bridge the gender wage gap in the workplace was released Thursday by an Assembly panel.
The bill (A-1444) would require employers contracting with the state to disclose demographic and other information about each employee, such as his or her gender, race, job title and total compensation.
Upon request, the Division on Civil Rights in the Department of Law and Public Safety would be required to grant an employee access to the information.
The bill would be known as the Wage Transparency Act.
“Hopefully, by empowering employees and holding employers more accountable, we can chip away at the remaining fragments of the glass ceiling,” said Lampitt (D-Camden/Burlington). “The more knowledge we have, the better we’ll be able to fight gender pay inequity and discrimination, and ensure everyone is treated equally under the law.”
“New Jersey prides itself on being an equal opportunity employer,” said Mosquera (D-Camden/Gloucester). “While we can’t regulate private corporations, we can – and, rightfully so, will – regulate contractors doing business with the state.”
“Transparency is the best way to fight discrimination,” said Johnson (D-Bergen). “Employees have little way of defending themselves against discrimination – whether it is based on gender, race or age – unless they know what their counterparts are making.”
The bill was released by the Assembly Labor Committee.
