Understanding Colorado's Equal Pay for Equal Work Act and Avoiding Traps for the Unwary

Colorado's Equal Pay for Equal Work Act does much, much more than prohibit disparate pay because of sex. This program will address both the more intuitive prohibitions and requirements of Colorado's pay equity law, as well as analyze the more insidious traps of the Act. Those traps include proactive notice and posting obligations, the far-reaching geographic scope of the regulations, now-outlawed common interview and employment practices, safe harbor pay equity audits, and more. While some of the regulations' language is ambiguous, there are concrete steps employers can take to limit the risk of litigation. By the end of this program, attendees will gain an understanding of how the Act is an outlier among pay equity laws and what they can do to bring their organizations or clients into compliance.

This program is geared toward in-house and outside counsel, Human Resource professionals, and other individuals responsible for employer policy formation, interviewing, hiring, performance evaluation, employee career trajectory, and employment-related litigation. 

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand compliance requirements of Colorado's Equal Pay for Equal Work Act

2. Learn to issue-spot employer practices and policies that may violate the Act

3. Understand how the federal equal pay act and other non-discrimination laws differ from the Act, and how compliance with the former is insufficient for the latter

4. Discuss what to expect during the investigation and enforcement process

5. Explain how conducting a pay audit can help identify issues with existing pay practices and lay the groundwork for implementing remedies