[Subject:] Defend Pay Transparency—Oppose SB 5408
[Lawmaker’s Name],
Washington’s pay transparency law is under attack. I urge you to stand with workers and oppose SB 5408.
Pay transparency is essential for pay equality. Please do not allow our progress in pay transparency be dismantled.
This bill was carefully drafted to destroy enforcement of Washington’s pay transparency law. Without enforcement, there will be no compliance. The reason is simple: employers, especially large corporations, profit from discriminatory pay practices. When workers are armed with information about a job’s pay, they are better equipped to discover if they are being paid inequitably, to advocate for fair pay for themselves, and to make decisions that protect their dignity.
This bill creates a loophole for companies that will totally undermine the statute’s effectiveness.
For instance, it will allow the largest corporations—which are repeat offenders in violating the pay transparency statute—to fix one violative posting while continuing to violate the law in their other job postings. They will be incentivized to only comply with the law when they get caught and then only remedy the one posting. This defeats the purpose of the statute as it will allow the continued practice of pay opacity.
Also, the 14-day cure period is far too long. Within 14 days, tens, if not hundreds, of job applicants will have already applied to the position—and be denied crucial pay information they are statutorily entitled to. Within 14 days, job applicants may have already interviewed for the position—without the pay information they need to advocate for fair pay. Within 14 days, the position could be filled and the posting taken down altogether without every including the pay information—so job applicants, the new hire, and the current employees alike are all denied knowledge of what the employer pays for that position.
This bill is absurd. It defeats the entire purpose of the pay transparency mandate. Please stand strong against this attack on one of the most effective tools in the fight for pay equality.
Please oppose SB 5408 and continue fighting for fair pay in Washington.
[Your Name]
[Your Address]