ALBANY – Employers in New York can no longer pay women less than their male counterparts for doing substantially similar work, according to a new law.

The law, which went into effect Tuesday, is the latest attempt by lawmakers to crackdown on disparities in the workplace. It also extends equal pay protections beyond just gender.

Sexual orientation, race, and gender identity are also covered under the law, which was signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in July after it was approved by lawmakers in June.

In a statement, Cuomo said there is "no rational reason" women should receive less pay then men and urged employers to review their pay policies to ensure compliance.

"Now it's time for businesses across the state to take a hard look at their pay policies and ensure women employees get paid the same as their male colleagues if they are doing substantially similar work," Cuomo said.

The law went into effect the same day that employees in the state were expected to complete mandatory sexual harassment training required by the state Department of Labor.

It's the latest in a series of laws passed in recent years aimed at bolstering workplace equity.

What you need to know

The new law expands New York's gender pay equity laws to include workers from different "protected classes" and makes it easier for those workers to file discrimination complaints.

Under the law, workers cannot be paid a lesser wage then their counterparts based on their age, race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and ethnicity.

"No employee with status within one or more protected class or classes shall be paid a wage at a rate less than the rate at which an employee without status within the same protected class or classes," the law says.

Instead, employees must be paid based on their skills, effort and job responsibility in all cases expect when salary is based on seniority, merit, or a system based on quantity or quality of production.

Employers who fail to comply with the law will face a $500 civil penalty for each violation.

The state's Business Council, which has been critical of New York's legislative mandates affecting the business community in the past, had no comment on the law.

Lessening the burden

The law makes it easier for workers to file a pay discrimination claim by eliminating the "equal pay for equal work" standard.

Instead, workers must prove their job is "substantially similar" to their counterparts, a standard far easier to prove.

The previous standard, according to a memo attached to the original bill, put an "excessive burden" on employees looking to file a discrimination complaint.

"The 'equal pay for equal work' standard has proved to place an excessive burden of proof on aggrieved employees when filing a claim for pay discrimination," a memo attached to the original bill said.

Other mandates

Lawmakers have pushed measures meant to cut down on various forms of workplace discrimination in recent years.

Last year, the state passed a law requiring mandatory training on the subject to be completed by workers every year.

The deadline for the first required annual training was Thursday.

That law requires all employers, public and private, to provide sexual-harassment training to its employees.

The Department of Labor launched extensive outreach program to raise awareness of the training, which included information on a litany of anti-harassment laws passed this year.

This year, lawmakers extended sexual harassment protections to independent contractors, consultants and vendors and eliminated the state's "severe or pervasive standard" making it easier for victims of sexual harassment to report their abusers.

The Legislature also held a series of hearings on the subject, the first of their kinds in decades.

And beginning in January, employers will be barred from asking about the salary history of potential employers, a move expected to further eliminate workplace discrimination.

CGARNOLD@gannett.com

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