An Act amending the act of December 17, 1959 (P.L.1913, No.694), known as the Equal Pay Law, further providing for definitions, for wage rates and for collection of unpaid wages.
SB 889 amends Pennsylvania's Equal Pay Law to strengthen protections against sex-based pay discrimination. It clarifies that "comparable work" requires similar skill, effort, and responsibility under similar conditions, and defines "wages" to include all compensation like bonuses and benefits. The bill prohibits employers from using past salary history to set new pay (except when a worker provides it to request higher pay) and bans retaliation for discussing wages or reporting violations. It also requires employers to justify any pay differences using legitimate, job-related factors like seniority or skills - not sex - and mandates that such factors must fully explain the wage gap. This directly affects workers and employers across Pennsylvania who set or receive wages.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jun 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jun 24, 2025
Last action Jun 24, 2025
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
1
Key actions
0
Committee
1
Jun 24, 2025
Committee
Referred to Labor & Industry
upper
1 primary · 13 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Steve Santarsiero
DDemocratic
Co
Art Haywood
DDemocratic
Co
Carolyn Comitta
DDemocratic
Co
Jay Costa
DDemocratic
Co
John Kane
DDemocratic
Co
Judy Schwank
DDemocratic
Co
Katie Muth
DDemocratic
Co
Lindsey Williams
DDemocratic
Co
Maria Collett
DDemocratic
Co
Nikil Saval
DDemocratic
Co
Sharif Street
DDemocratic
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