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June 25, 2025
On March 28, 2024, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed into law Substitute House Bill 1905, which amended the Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (“EPOA”) so more protected classes could seek its protections. This amendment will go into effect on July 1, 2025.
The purpose of Washington’s EPOA is to ensure equal compensation and advancement opportunities among “similarly employed” employees. Employees are “similarly employed” if they work for the same employer, the performance of the job requires similar skill, effort, and responsibility, and the jobs are performed under similar working conditions. Job titles are not determinative of whether employees are “similarly employed.”
When the EPOA was enacted in 1943, the State of Washington was focused on disparities between men and women in the workplace. Therefore, the EPOA prohibited discrimination in compensation and advancement opportunities based upon gender only. With the adoption of Substitute House Bill 1905, more protected classes can now seek recourse under the EPOA. With the amendment, the EPOA now prohibits discrimination in compensation and advancement opportunities based upon age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog or service animal by a person with a disability.
Employer Takeaways
Employers should make sure that their policies and compensation practices are consistent with this amendment. In addition, employers should take care to promptly and thoroughly investigate any complaints that employees raise about discrimination in compensation or advancement opportunities.
The author of this article, Maria V. Martin, is a member of the Bars of New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice in New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, or any other jurisdiction, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship with any reader of the article where one does not exist. Always consult an attorney with specific legal issues.
