North Carolina SB 607: Equal Pay Act.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 607

Short Title: Equal Pay Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators Salvador, Garrett, and Chitlik (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
March 26, 2025
*S607-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO PROHIBIT DISCRIMINATION IN THE PAYMENT OF WAGES ON THE 2
BASIS OF THE GENDER OF THE EMPLOYEE. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "North Carolina Equal 5
Pay Act." 6
SECTION 2. Article 2A of Chapter 95 of the General Statutes is amended by adding 7
a new section to read: 8
"§ 95-25.6A. Discrimination in payment of wages on basis of gender of employee 9
prohibited. 10
(a) Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section: 11
(1) Comparable work. – Work that is substantially similar in that it requires 12
substantially similar skill, effort, and responsibility and is performed under 13
similar working conditions; however, a job title or job description alone does 14
not determine comparability. 15
(2) Working conditions. – The circumstances customarily taken into 16
consideration in setting salary or wages, including reasonable shift 17
differentials, physical surroundings, and hazards encountered in performing a 18
job. 19
(b) Comparable Pay Required. – No employer shall discriminate in any way on the basis 20
of gender in the payment of salary or wages, including benefits and other compensation, or pay 21
any person salary or wage rates less than the rates paid to employees of a different gender for 22
comparable work, except that the following variations in salary and wages, including benefits or 23
other compensation, are not prohibited by this section if the variations are based upon: 24
(1) A bona fide system that rewards seniority with the employer, if time spent on 25
leave due to a pregnancy-related condition and protected parental, family, and 26
medical leave shall not reduce seniority. 27
(2) A bona fide merit system. 28
(3) A bona fide system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of 29
production or sales. 30
(4) The geographic location in which a job is performed. 31
(5) Education, training, or experience to the extent such factors are reasonably 32
related to the particular job in question and consistent with business necessity. 33
(6) Travel, if the travel is a regular and necessary condition of the particular job. 34
An employer who is paying a wage differential in violation of this section shall not reduce 35
the pay of any employee in order to comply with this section. 36

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 607-First Edition
(c) Unlawful Practices. – It is an unlawful practice for an employer to do any of the 1
following: 2
(1) Require, as a condition of employment, that an employee refrain from 3
inquiring about, discussing, or disclosing information about either the 4
employee's own wages, including benefits or other compensation, or about 5
any other employee's wages. 6
(2) Screen job applicants based upon their wage, including benefits or other 7
compensation, or salary histories, including by requiring that an applicant's 8
prior wages, including benefits or other compensation or salary history, satisfy 9
minimum or maximum criteria. 10
(3) Seek the salary history of any prospective employee from any current or 11
former employer. A prospective employee may provide written authorization 12
to a prospective employer to confirm prior wages only after any offer of 13
employment with compensation has been made to the prospective employee. 14
(4) Discharge or in any manner retaliate against any employee because the 15
employee (i) opposed any act or practice made unlawful by this section, (ii) 16
made or is about to make a complaint or has caused or is about to cause to be 17
instituted any proceeding under this section, (iii) testified or is about to testify, 18
assist, or participate in any manner in an investigation or proceeding under 19
this section, or (iv) disclosed the employee's wages, benefits, or other 20
compensation or has inquired about or discussed the wages of any other 21
employee. 22
(d) Violations. – Any employer who violates this section shall be liable to the employee 23
affected in the amount of the employee's unpaid salary or wages, including benefits or other 24
compensation. Any agreement between the employer and an employee to work for less than the 25
wage to which the employee is entitled under this section shall be no defense to an action. An 26
employee's previous wage or salary history shall not be a defense to an action. The court may, in 27
addition to any judgment awarded to the plaintiff, allow a reasonable attorneys' fee and the costs 28
of the action to be paid by the defendant. 29
Any action arising under this section shall be commenced within three years after the date of 30
the alleged violation. For the purposes of this section, a violation occurs