HB 16-1001, sponsored by Rep. Jessie Danielson, D-Wheat Ridge, and Rep. Janet Buckner, D-Aurora, would have required Colorado employers to prove to state investigators that they are paying men and women equally, regardless of an employees’ experience or quality of work. The bill would have slapped an entirely new roll of bureaucratic red tape on Colorado businesses while accomplishing absolutely nothing in the advancement of wage equality.
HB 16-1166, sponsored by Rep. Brittany Pettersen, D-Lakewood, and Rep. Faith Winter, D-Westminster, would have prohibited Colorado employers from inquiring about the salary history of job applicants. Beyond the obvious problems this would have created for business owners in assessing the proper compensation for potential employees, the measure would not have prevented them from obtaining the relevant information from applicants’ previous employers or third-party recruiters. As such, the legislation would have encouraged Colorado employers to spend time, manpower and money in order to ensure employees are being properly compensated.
Kelly Maher, Executive Director of Compass Colorado, applauded the committee’s actions:
“There’s not a single lawmaker in the state of Colorado who believes that women shouldn’t be paid as much as men for equivalent work. The problem with these bills is that neither would have done anything to actionably advance their intended goals.
“In addition to achieving nothing, the measures would have created an avalanche of regulatory paperwork that Colorado employers simply do not need. Liberal lawmakers should take their hopelessly inane nanny state solutions elsewhere.”
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