On August 29, the EEOC issued final Enforcement Guidance on Retaliation and Related Issues. The new guidance is part of the EEOC Compliance Manual and is available at https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/retaliation-guidance.cfm. The guidance provides detailed examples to help employers understand what types of actions may constitute retaliation. Retaliation is now the most frequently alleged form of discrimination and in FY2015, accounted for almost 40,000 filings, or approximately 45% of discrimination charges filed.

    Several states have recently modified their Equal Pay Acts, increasing the scope of those laws. For example, California eliminated its requirements that to be actionable, the wage differential must be within the “same establishment” and the work must be “equal.” Rather than being “equal” the work must now be “substantially similar” and the modified establishment language means that the prohibition could potentially apply across an entire business, not merely to a single physical location.  (Cal. Laws 2015, Ch. 546). Similarly, New York modified its law so that the term “same establishment” is now defined as workplaces in the same geographic region no larger than a county. (N.Y. Laws 2016, Ch. 362). In Massachusetts, a recent change to the law (effective 1/1/2018) will prohibit employers from requesting salary history during the job interview process. The new legislation also updates the definition of “comparable work” to clarify that it means work that is substantially similar in skill, effort, and responsibility. (Mass. Laws 2016, Ch. 177).