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Summary of differences between federal and state regulations
Employer defined
“Employer” means any person employing one or more employees, but does not include the state or any municipal corporation or political subdivision of the state having in force a civil service system based on merit, or the federal government.
Unlawful employment practices
The unlawful employment practices and exemptions are similar to those under the federal Equal Pay Act. Employers must not discriminate between employees on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees at a rate less than the rate the employer pays to employees of the opposite sex for equal work. Exemptions are provided for a seniority system, a merit system, a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production, or a differential based on any other factor other than sex.
Preventing pay discrimination act
In Minnesota, effective 1/1/2024, no employer may ask prospective employees about their current or past pay history either on an application, in an interview, or as part of salary negotiations. Applicants may, if they choose to, voluntarily disclose salary history in an effort to support negotiation for a higher wage than what is offered. Enforcement authority is with the Minnesota Dept. of Human Rights.
As a companion to this prohibition on asking applicants for salary history information, effective 1/1/2025, employers with 30 or more total employees in Minnesota will be subject to Minnesota’s new pay transparency requirements.
Covered employers will be required to include in all job postings a starting salary range, or if no range, a fixed pay rate. The range must include a minimum and a maximum amount based on the employer’s good-faith estimate of the opportunity for each position, and cannot be open-ended. Additionally, any posting must include a “description of all the benefits and other compensation, including but not limited to any health or retirement benefits” associated with the position. A job posting that states pay is “starting at $$20 per hour” and “competitive benefits,” for example, will not be sufficient.
Job posting is broadly defined to include “any solicitation intended to recruit job applicants for a specific available position, including recruitment done directly by an employer or indirectly through a third party, and includes any postings made electronically or via printed hard copy, that includes [sic] qualifications for desired applicants.”
Despite this broad definition, the law does not address whether it applies to postings for positions requiring physical presence in Minnesota, or is also intended to apply to remote workers.
State
Contact
Department of Labor and Industry
Regulations
Preventing Pay Discrimination Act 363.A08
Equal Pay for Equal Work Law, Minn. Stat. Chapter 181, Sections 181.66 through 181.71
Federal
Contact
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
Regulations
29 CFR Part 1620, The Equal Pay Act
29 CFR 1621, Procedures — The Equal Pay Act