Bill S.2468

SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2468

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

_______________

SECTION 1. Chapter 9 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:-

Section 32. (a) As used in this section, the words “annual report”, “covered employer”, “EEO-1 data report”, “EEO-3 data report”, “EEO-4 data report”, “EEO-5 data report” and “wage data report” shall have the same meanings as defined in section 105E of chapter 149 unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(b)(1) Annually, not later than May 1, the state secretary shall provide to the executive office of labor and workforce development the EEO-1 data reports of each covered employer for the prior calendar year.

(2) Not later than May 1 of each even-numbered year, the state secretary shall provide to the executive office of labor and workforce development the EEO-3 data reports and EEO-5 data reports of each covered employer, as applicable, covering the prior 2 calendar years.

(3) Not later than May 1 of each odd-numbered year, the state secretary shall provide to the executive office of labor and workforce development the EEO-4 data reports of each covered employer, as applicable, covering the prior 2 calendar years.

(c)(1) The state secretary shall accept wage data reports filed by covered employers subject to the filing requirements of an EEO-1 data report as a supplement to their annual report, which shall be filed at the same time as the covered employer’s annual report.

(2) The state secretary shall accept wage data reports filed by covered employers subject to the filing requirements of an EEO-3 data report, EEO-4 data report or EEO-5 data report through the least restrictive means available including, but not limited to, web portals, email submissions or paper forms and reports by covered employers may be submitted through a web portal, email submission or paper form.

(3) The state secretary may establish a web portal, sample email submission or paper form to facilitate the submission of the wage data reports by covered employers.

(d) Wage data reports in the custody of the state secretary shall not be considered public records as defined by clause Twenty-sixth of section 7 of chapter 4 and shall not be subject to chapter 66 or chapter 66A.

SECTION 2. Chapter 23 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:-

Section 27. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

“Aggregate wage data report”, a report reflecting aggregate data from wage data reports, collected from covered employers pursuant to subsection (c) of section 32 of chapter 9 and provided to the executive office of labor and workforce development by the state secretary pursuant to subsection (b) of said section 32 of said chapter 9; provided, however, that an “aggregate wage data report” shall be separated by the following industries consistent with the North American Industry Classification System:

(i) agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting;

(ii) mining;

(iii) utilities;

(iv) construction;

(v) manufacturing;

(vi) wholesale trade;

(vii) retail trade;

(viii) transportation and warehousing;

(ix) information;

(x) finance and insurance;

(xi) real estate rental and leasing;

(xii) professional, scientific and technical services;

(xiii) management of companies and enterprises;

(xiv) administrative support and waste management and remediation services;

(xv) education services;

(xvi) health care and social assistance;

(xvii) arts, entertainment and recreation;

(xviii) accommodation and food services;

(xix) public administration; and

(xx) other services.

“EEO-1 data report”, as defined in section 105E of chapter 149.

“EEO-3 data report”, as defined in section 105E of chapter 149.

“EEO-4 data report”, as defined in section 105E of chapter 149.

“EEO-5 data report”, as defined in section 105E of chapter 149.

“Wage data report”, as defined in section 105E of chapter 149.

(b) The executive office of labor and workforce development shall publish on its website aggregate wage data reports consisting of data received pursuant to subsection (c) of section 105E of chapter 149 as follows:

(i) annually, not later than July 31, an aggregate wage data report consisting of data from all EEO-1 data reports;

(ii) in every even-numbered calendar year, not later than July 31, an aggregate wage data report consisting of data from all EEO-3 data reports and EEO-5 data reports; and

(iii) in every odd-numbered calendar year, not later than July 31, an aggregate wage data report consisting of data from all EEO-4 data reports.

SECTION 3. Section 1 of chapter 149 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 31 and 32, the words “one hundred and five A to one hundred and five C, inclusive” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- 105A to 105C, inclusive, 105E and 105F.

SECTION 4. Said section 1 of said chapter 149, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 39 and 40, the words “one hundred and five A to one hundred and five C, inclusive” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- 105A to 105C, inclusive, 105E and 105F.

SECTION 5. Said chapter 149 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 105D the following 2 sections:-

Section 105E. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

“Annual report”, an annual report to be filed by a covered employer with the state secretary pursuant to section 45 of chapter 108A, section 63 of chapter 109, sections 12 and 48 of chapter 156C, section 16.22 of chapter 156D or any other applicable law or regulation.

“Covered employer”, an employer: (i) with not less than 100 full-time employees in the commonwealth at any time during the prior calendar year; and (ii) subject to the federal filing requirements of a wage data report.

“EEO-1 data report”, a completed copy of all required components of an employer’s Employer Information Report, as issued by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, including any successor report containing the same or substantially similar workforce demographic and pay data categorized by race, ethnicity, sex and job category.

“EEO-3 data report”, a completed copy of all required components of a local union’s Local Union Report, as issued by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, including any successor report containing the same or substantially similar workforce demographic and pay data categorized by race, ethnicity, sex and job category.

“EEO-4 data report”, a completed copy of a State and Local Governmental Information Report, as issued by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, including any successor report containing the same or substantially similar workforce demographic and pay data categorized by race, ethnicity, sex and job category.

“EEO-5 data report”, a completed copy of an Elementary-Secondary Staff Information Report, as issued by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, including any successor report containing the same or substantially similar workforce demographic and pay data categorized by race, ethnicity, sex and job category.

“State secretary”, as defined in chapter 9.

“Wage data report”, an EEO-1, EEO-3, EEO-4 or EEO-5 data report.

(b)(1) At the time of filing its annual report, a covered employer, subject to federal EEO-1 data report filing requirements, shall submit to the state secretary a copy of its EEO-1 data report covering the prior calendar year as a supplement to its annual report pursuant to section 32 of chapter 9.

(2) In each even-numbered year, a covered employer, subject to federal EEO-3 or EEO-5 data report filing requirements, shall submit to the state secretary a copy of its EEO-3 data report or EEO-5 data report, as applicable, covering the prior 2 calendar years pursuant to section 32 of chapter 9.

(3) In each odd-numbered year, a covered employer, subject to federal EEO-4 data report filing requirements, shall submit to the state secretary a copy of its EEO-4 data report covering the prior 2 calendar years pursuant to section 32 of chapter 9.

(c) Annually, not later than May 1, the state secretary shall submit to the executive office of labor and workforce development the wage data reports of each covered employer for the prior calendar year pursuant to section 32 of chapter 9.

(d) Wage data reports in the custody of the secretary of labor and workforce development shall not be considered public records as defined by clause Twenty-sixth of section 7 of chapter 4 and shall not be subject to chapter 66 or chapter 66A; provided, however, that the publishing of aggregate wage data reports, as defined in section 27 of chapter 23, by the executive office of labor and workforce development on its website pursuant to said section 27 of said chapter 23 shall be considered public records as defined by said clause Twenty-sixth of said section 7 of said chapter 4.

(e)(1) The attorney general shall have the exclusive jurisdiction to enforce this section and may obtain injunctive or declaratory relief for this purpose. Any covered employer who violates this section shall be punished by a warning for the first offense, by a fine of not more than $500 for the second offense and by a fine of not more than $1,000 for the third offense. A fourth or subsequent offense shall be subject to paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b) of section 27C.

(2) No violation of this section shall be construed to carry treble damages pursuant to section 150.

Section 105F. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

“Covered employer”, any employer, public or private, that employs 25 or more employees in the commonwealth.

“Pay range”, the annual salary range or hourly wage range that the covered employer reasonably and in good faith expects to pay for a particular and specific employment position at that time.

“Posting”, any advertisement or job posting intended to recruit job applicants for a particular and specific employment position, including, but not limited to, recruitment done directly by a covered employer or indirectly through a third party.

(b) A covered employer or its agent shall disclose the pay range for a particular and specific employment position in the posting of the position.

(c) A covered employer or its agent shall provide the pay range for a particular and specific employment position to an employee who is offered a promotion or transfer to a new position with different job responsibilities.

(d) A covered employer or its agent shall provide the pay range for a particular and specific employment position to an employee holding such position or to an applicant for such position upon request.

(e) It shall be unlawful for a covered employer to discharge or in any other manner retaliate or discriminate against any employee or applicant because the employee or applicant has: (i) taken action to enforce their rights pursuant to this section; (ii) made a complaint to their employer, an agent of their employer or the attorney general regarding an alleged violation of this section; (iii) instituted, or caused to be instituted, any proceeding under this section; or (iv) testified or is about to testify in any such proceeding.

(f)(1) The attorney general shall have the exclusive jurisdiction to enforce subsections (b) to (d), inclusive, and may obtain injunctive or declaratory relief for this purpose. Any covered employer who violates this section shall be punished by a warning for the first offense, by a fine of not more than $500 for the second offense and by a fine of not more than $1,000 for the third offense. A fourth or subsequent offense shall be subject to paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b) of section 27C.

(2) For enforcement pursuant to paragraph (1), multiple violations within a 48-hour period of subsections (b) to (d), inclusive, shall have a rebuttable presumption that such offenses constitute a single offense attributed to a single act or set of related actions.

(3) No violation of this section shall be construed to carry treble damages pursuant to section 150.

SECTION 6. Not later than 6 months after the effective date of this act, the attorney general shall conduct a public awareness campaign to provide information to covered employers regarding the requirements of sections 105E and 105F of chapter 149 of the General Laws, which shall include, but not be limited to, making information available on the attorney general’s website and otherwise informing covered employers of said sections 105E and 105F of said chapter 149.

SECTION 7. (a)(1) Not later than May 1, 2024, the state secretary shall provide the executive office of labor and workforce development with initial EEO-1, EEO-3 and EEO-5 data reports pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b) of section 32 of chapter 9 of the General Laws, as inserted by section 1.

(2) Not later than May 1, 2025, the state secretary shall provide the executive office of labor and workforce development with initial EEO-4 data reports pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection (b) of section 32 of chapter 9 of the General Laws, as inserted by section 1.

(b)(1) Not later than July 31, 2024, the executive office of labor and workforce development shall publish the first aggregate wage data reports pursuant to clauses (i) and (ii) of subsection (b) of section 27 of chapter 23 of the General Laws, as inserted by section 2.

(2) Not later than July 31, 2025, the executive office of labor and workforce development shall publish the first aggregate wage data report pursuant to clause (iii) of subsection (b) of section 27 of chapter 23 of the General Laws, as inserted by section 2.

(c)(1) Beginning in calendar year 2024, covered employers subject to EEO-1, EEO-3 and EEO-5 data report requirements shall submit the first reports to the state secretary pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b) of section 105E of chapter 149 of the General Laws, as inserted by section 5.

(2) Beginning in calendar year 2025, covered employers subject to EEO-4 data report requirements shall submit the first report to the state secretary pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection (b) of section 105E of chapter 149 of the General Laws, as inserted by section 5.

SECTION 8. For the first 2 years after the effective date of sections 105E and 105F of chapter 149 of the Generals Laws, as inserted by section 5, a covered employer shall have 2 business days after notice of a violation to cure any defect before a fine is imposed.

SECTION 9. Section 105F of chapter 149 of the General Laws, as inserted by section 5, shall take effect 1 year after the effective date of this act.