New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy Signs First Executive Order for Equal Pay and Gender Equality

In his first official act as Governor of the State of New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy issued an Executive Order on January 16, 2018 promoting equal pay for equal work in New Jersey. The Executive Order, which is set to take effect February 1, 2018, provides that all New Jersey workers should be compensated based on their work and the services they provide, regardless of gender. The Executive Order further states that currently, women of all ethnicities in New Jersey who hold full-time, year-round jobs are paid less than men in those same positions.

Fulfilling a campaign promise and following in the footsteps of other states and major cities around the country, the Governor’s Office seeks to fix this wage gap in various ways. Since asking for prior compensation information can be part of the application process, the Executive Order directs that no State entity is permitted to ask employment applicants about their current or previous salaries until after a conditional offer of employment has been made. In the event an applicant refuses to volunteer such information, that refusal cannot be considered in employment decisions. If a State entity does have a job applicant’s compensation information, that information cannot be used in an employment decision. Further, the Executive Order provides that State entities can only request and verify current or previous compensation information prior to a conditional offer of employment if such information was voluntarily provided or if verification is required by federal, state, or local law.  A “State entity” is definied in the Executive Order as “any of the principal departments in the Executive Branch of State government and any agency, authority, board, bureau, commission, division, institution, office, or other instrumentality within or created by any such department, and any independent State authority, commission, instrumentality, or agency over which the Governor exercises executive authority, as determined by the Attorney General.”

To enforce this Executive Order, the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations is tasked with overseeing the implementation and training of staff at State entities so that they can comply. For those who are improperly asked about their salary history, such violations can be reported to the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations. Reporting such violations to the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations is the sole remedy, as the Executive Order does not create a private right of action for employees or prospective employees in the event they are improperly asked about their salary history.

Although the Executive Order only impacts State entities, Governor Murphy indicated that he would make it state law if the Legislature presents him with a bill extending these protections to private businesses.  California, Massachusetts, Delaware, Oregon, and several other U.S. cities, including New York City, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, have all enacted policies that prohibit employers from asking about prospective employees’ salary histories.

For more information regarding the potential impacts of this Executive Order and how to implement nondiscriminatory pay practices, please contact Dina M. Mastellone, Esq., Director of the firm’s Human Resources Practice Group, at dmastellone@genovaburns.com or 973-533-0777.