We previously reported on a bill that the Maine legislature was considering which would help address the gender pay gap. That bill passed the legislature but Governor LePage has vetoed it. As our previous post explained, this new law would help prevent victims of pay discrimination from continuing to suffer the effects of that discrimination when they move from one job to another. It would also help victims of pay discrimination to discover their employers’ discriminatory practices.
“Workers should be paid a market-based salary that reflects their education, experience, qualifications, credentials and work ethic, regardless of whether a previous job underpaid them because of their gender — or any other reason,” Senator Cathy Breen (D-Falmouth) said. “If this bill becomes law, it will be a victory not only for the hundreds of thousands of Maine women who are underpaid, but for all workers that deserve fair compensation.”
Governor LePage’s veto statement focused on the part of the bill that would have prohibited employers from asking prospective employees to disclose their pay history during negotiations over their starting salary. Governor LePage said, among other things, that “Maine’s employers are often their own HR departments. Adding another law restricting a legitimate business practice places yet another burden on our employers. If an employer cannot ask, they may end up making even lower offers than they normally would, resulting in lower wages.”
Governor LePage’s reasoning does not make much sense because if a prospective employee thought disclosing her pay history would help her get a higher salary, nothing in the bill would prevent her from voluntarily disclosing that information. Indeed, the bill specifically contemplates voluntary disclosure. What the bill prohibits is an employer asking for pay history or requiring applicants to provide it because if an applicant suffered pay discrimination in the past, the effects of that discrimination would depress her pay in her new job.