Katheryn Bradley and Christine Thelen authored an article in the October issue of Seattle Business magazine titled "Ready to Comply? State Law Mandates Equal Career Opportunities." The article discusses Washington’s Equal Pay Opportunity Act and what employers need to do now to ensure compliance with the law.
Washington’s Equal Pay Opportunity Act, which went into effect on June 7, requires more than just equitable pay across genders. The law also prohibits limiting or depriving an employee of “career advancement opportunities” that would otherwise be available but for an employee’s gender. Accordingly, Washington employers must be prepared to justify differences in career advancement opportunities between genders based on bona fide factors unrelated to gender and consistent with business necessity. These bona fide factors can include, but are not limited to, experience, education, performance and seniority.