Columbus City Council unanimously passed a new law Monday evening that requires employers to post salary ranges on job postings.
The law specifically requires these posting to include a "reasonable" range. Council member Lourdes Barroso de Padilla, who spear-headed the legislation, said this was intentional so employers don't skirt the law by saying a new job pays between $1 and $1 million.
Barroso de Padilla said the law will promote fairness in the workplace by ensuring job seekers have clear and accurate information about compensation.
"Pay transparency not only supports equity and reduces wage disparities, but also strengthens trust between employers and employees. Furthermore, it empowers job seekers by providing them with clear expectations," she said.
Barroso de Padilla outlined how the law will help address — but admittedly not completely solve — the gender and racial pay gap. It is the second is a series of ordinances she's put forward on pay. The first was passed last year to prevent employers from asking job seekers about their previous salary history.
Council member Nancy Day-Achauer applauded the legislation through tears Monday evening. She said she faced pay disparity compared to men many times in her life.
"When I was elected to council. A colleague asked me how I liked the new job. And I said, 'I'm finally getting paid as much as the white men doing the same job,'" Day-Achauer said. "This work really matters."
Barroso de Padilla told WOSU she's sure most women have a story and mentioned her own experience in the nonprofit world. She said the pay gap ends up costing women millions of dollars.
"It's like an invisible tax that women have to pay and to some degree all of us are doing it, right," Barroso de Padila said. "That could go towards my daughter's education. That could have gone towards us buying our first home before I was 40."
She compared the law to other worker protection laws that the city has in place.
The "reasonable" salary range language specifically requires the range or scale or salary to be based on factors like the flexibility of the employer’s budget; the anticipated range of experience job applicants may have; the potential variation in the responsibilities of the position; the opportunities for growth in and beyond the position; the cost of living for the various locations in which an applicant may work and market research on comparable positions and salaries.
The language of the bill applies to all private employers in the city with 15 or more employees. It does not apply to the state of Ohio or the federal government.
Under Columbus City Code, if someone wants to submit a complaint about an employer violating this law, they have to seek out the city's Community Relations Commission.
The employer could face civil penalties if found to violate the law.
Women for Economic Leadership and Development CEO Barbara Smoot said fixing pay disparity requires systemic solutions and not once and done approaches. She said this legislation will push back on an increase in the gender pay gap, which she said hurts families.
"It prevents women and people of color from being able to create wealth for their families," Smoot said. "For every dollar that women earn, data show that they redeploy 90 cents back into their families and communities Paying for childcare, putting food on the table, rent and housing. Closing the pay gap clearly is good for community."
In the past, the state of Ohio has stepped in to preempt local laws dealing with wage. In 2016, Governor John Kasich signed a bill into law that prohibited local governments from making minimum wages that were different from state law.
Barroso de Padilla said she's not heard from state lawmakers on this legislation. She said the city spoke to business leaders first to get their input on the legislation, which is what created the exception for small businesses with 15 employees or less.
"When you invest in the people furthest away from justice, all boats rise. We've proven that time and time again. And so I think it's hard to argue against that," Barroso de Padilla said.
She said laws like this help to make the state of Ohio better.
