2015-2016 Bill 3253: State Employee Equal Pay for Equal Work Act - South Carolina Legislature

1 South Carolina General Assembly 2 121st Session, 2015-2016 3 4 H. 3253 5 6 STATUS INFORMATION 7 8 General Bill 9 Sponsors: Reps. Stavrinakis, CobbHunter, McKnight and M.S. McLeod 10 Document Path: l:\council\bills\bbm\9118htc15.docx 11 12 Introduced in the House on January 13, 2015 13 Currently residing in the House Committee on Ways and Means 14 15 Summary: State Employee Equal Pay for Equal Work Act 16 17 18 HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS 19 20 Date Body Action Description with journal page number 21 12/18/2014 House Prefiled 22 12/18/2014 House Referred to Committee on Ways and Means 23 1/13/2015 House Introduced and read first time ( House Journalpage 173) 24 1/13/2015 House Referred to Committee on Ways and Means ( House Journalpage 173) 25 26 View the latest legislative information at the website 27 28 29 VERSIONS OF THIS BILL 30 31 12/18/2014 32 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A BILL 10 11 TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 12 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 12 TO CHAPTER 11, TITLE 8 13 ENACTING THE “SOUTH CAROLINA STATE EMPLOYEE 14 EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK ACT” SO AS TO PROHIBIT 15 DISCRIMINATION BY GENDER REGARDLESS OF GENDER 16 IN COMPENSATION PAID STATE EMPLOYEES FOR SAME 17 KIND, GRADE, AND QUALITY OF THE STATE 18 EMPLOYMENT, TO PROVIDE DEFINITIONS, EXCEPTIONS, 19 AND PROHIBIT SPECIFIC EMPLOYER ACTIONS WITH 20 REGARD TO THE ENFORCEMENT OF THIS ACT, AND TO 21 PROVIDE ADMINISTRATIVE AND WHERE APPLICABLE, 22 JUDICIAL REMEDIES FOR VIOLATIONS. 23 24 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South 25 Carolina: 26 27 SECTION 1. Chapter 11, Title 8 of the 1976 Code is amended by 28 adding: 29 30 “Article 12 31 32 South Carolina State Employee Equal Pay 33 for Equal Work 34 35 Section 8111310. This article may be cited as the ‘South 36 Carolina State Employee Equal Pay for Equal Work Act’. 37 38 Section 8111320. It is the public policy of this State that an 39 employee who performs public service for the State regardless of 40 gender is entitled to be paid the same compensation for that 41 service, as is paid to another who performs the same kind, grade

[3253] 2 1 and quality of service, and a distinction in compensation may not 2 be made because of gender. 3 4 Section 8111330. As used in this article: 5 (1) ‘Commission’ means the South Carolina Human Affairs 6 Commission. 7 (2) ‘Employee’ means an individual who is employed to work 8 forty or more hours a week and who is employed by the employer. 9 (3) ‘Employer’ means any department, office, division, agency, 10 commission, board, committee, institution, or other organizational 11 unit of this State. 12 13 Section 8111340. (A) An employer may not discriminate 14 against an employee on the basis of gender by paying wages to an 15 employee at a rate less than that paid within the same agency to 16 another employee of a different gender for the same or 17 substantially similar work on jobs in which the employee’s 18 performance requires equal skill, effort, education, and 19 responsibility and that are performed under similar working 20 conditions, including time worked in the position. 21 (B) Nothing in subsection (A) prohibits the payment of 22 different wage rates to employees when the payment is made 23 pursuant to any of the following: 24 (1) a seniority system; 25 (2) a merit system; 26 (3) a system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of 27 production; or 28 (4) a differential based on a bona fide factor other than 29 gender including, but not limited to, education, training, or 30 experience, if both: 31 (a) the employer demonstrates this factor is related to the 32 job position in question; and 33 (b) no alternative employment practice would serve the 34 same legitimate business purpose without producing a 35 compensation differential. 36 (C) An employer who is paying wages in violation of this 37 article, in order to comply with this article, may not reduce the 38 wages of any other employee. 39 40 Section 8111350. It is unlawful for an employer to interfere 41 with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or attempt to exercise, any 42 right provided under this article. It is unlawful for any employer to 43 discriminate, retaliate, or take any adverse employment action

[3253] 3 1 including, but not limited to, termination or in any other manner 2 discriminate against any employee for inquiring about disclosing, 3 comparing, or otherwise discussing the employee’s wages or the 4 wages of any other employee, or aiding or encouraging any other 5 employee to exercise rights pursuant to this article. 6 7 Section 8111360. It is unlawful for an employer subject to this 8 article to discriminate, retaliate, or take any adverse employment 9 action including, but not limited to, termination against an 10 employee because, in exercising or attempting to exercise the 11 employee’s rights under this article, the employee: 12 (1) has filed any complaint or has instituted or caused to be 13 instituted any proceeding to enforce the employee’s rights under 14 this article; 15 (2) has provided or will provide any information in 16 connection with any inquiry or proceeding relating to any right 17 afforded to an employee pursuant to this article; 18 (3) has testified or will testify in any inquiry or proceeding 19 relating to any right afforded to an employee pursuant to this 20 article. 21 22 Section 8111370. (A) An employee who in good faith 23 believes that the employee’s employer is in violation of this article 24 shall submit written notice of the alleged violation to the employer. 25 An employer who receives the written notice from an employee 26 has sixty days from receipt of the notice to investigate the matter 27 and remedy any violation of this article. If an employer remedies 28 the violation in a manner that complies with this article and within 29 the time provided in this article, the employee may not bring any 30 action against the employer pursuant to this article except as 31 provided in subsections (B) and (C). 32 (B) If an employer fails to resolve the dispute to the satisfaction 33 of the employee within the time provided, the employee may file a 34 complaint with the commission requesting an investigation of the 35 complaint. 36 (C) If the commission finds evidence of discriminatory, 37 retaliatory, or other adverse employment action on the part of the 38 employer in violation of this article but is unable to resolve or 39 mediate the dispute using the procedures and remedies provided 40 pursuant to Section 11390, or fails to render a decision as to the 41 dispute, or issues a finding of no discrimination on the part of the 42 employer, the employee may institute a civil suit in the court of 43 common pleas.

[3253] 4 1 2 Section 8111380. (A) Any case appealed to the court of 3 common pleas pursuant to this article must be heard de novo, and 4 except in a finding of a violation of Section 8111350 or 8111360, 5 or both such sections, the employer is liable to the affected 6 employee in the amount of the employee’s unpaid wages, interest 7 at the legal rate, and reasonable attorney’s fees. 8 (B) If in the court of common pleas there is a finding of the 9 employer’s violating Section 8111350 or 8111360, or both such 10 sections, then the employer is liable for compensatory and other 11 damages, including punitive damages, limited to those specific 12 violations. 13 14 Section 8111390. Nothing in this article prevents the 15 settlement of a claim by agreement of the employer and employee 16 for a lesser amount than the employee alleges the employee is due. 17 18 Section 8111400. (A) An action for unpaid wages or any other 19 form of relief for a violation of this article must be commenced 20 within one year of the date that an employee is aware or should 21 have been aware that the employee’s employer is in violation of 22 this article. 23 (B) This oneyear prescriptive period is suspended during the 24 sixtyday period allowed the employer pursuant to this article to 25 respond to the employee’s written notice, during the pendency of 26 any administrative review or investigation of the employee’s claim 27 by the commission or the United States Department of Labor, or 28 both. 29 30 Section 8111410. This article is supplemental and is not 31 intended to supersede any other cause of action or remedy 32 available to an employee under state or federal law. 33 34 Section 8111420. Nothing in this article may be construed as 35 allowing the total of all amounts received in an action or claim 36 brought pursuant to this article, not including any back pay 37 amount, to exceed those allowed pursuant to Section 1578120(2).” 38 39 SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2015, and applies for 40 complaints for wage discrimination occurring after June 30, 2015. 41 XX 42

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