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HB 630PENNSYLVANIASession 2025-2026State Billpassed chamber

Passed

Pennsylvania House Bill 630 expands equal pay protections, bans wage history inquiries, and requires salary ranges in job postings

Original title: An Act amending the act of December 17, 1959 (P.L.1913, No.694), known as the Equal Pay Law, further providing for definitions and for wage rates; providing for additional violations; further providing for powers of secretary, for collection of unpaid wages, for records and reporting and for penalties; and establishing the Equal Pay Enforcement Fund.

Last action · May 16, 2025: Referred to LABOR AND INDUSTRY, May 16, 2025Sponsors: Melissa Shusterman and 41 others

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

Law

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Public stanceCommunity reactions are separate from the official record and reporting.

What This Bill Would Do

Pennsylvania House Bill 630 prohibits employers from discriminating in pay based on sex, race, or ethnicity for , bans requesting or relying on a prospective employee's wage history, and requires employers to include salary ranges in job postings. The measure establishes the Equal Pay Enforcement Fund, increases statutory fines for violations to between $2,500 and $5,000, and extends the statute of limitations for filing claims to three years. The provisions take effect in one year.

Why it matters

Workers gain broader legal protections against pay discrimination across protected classes, the right to discuss compensation without employer retaliation, and mandatory salary disclosure in job listings, while employers face higher administrative penalties and stricter evidentiary standards for wage differentials.

Who It Would Affect

Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

employees

Employees gain expanded protections against wage discrimination based on race and ethnicity, explicit rights to discuss compensation without retaliation, and entitlement to liquidated and punitive damages for violations.

Directly affected

employers

Employers must disclose salary ranges in public job advertisements, cease asking for applicant wage history, maintain detailed employment records, and face significantly increased fines and liability for pay disparities.

Directly affected

prospective employees

Job applicants are protected from wage history inquiries during the hiring process and are guaranteed access to salary range information upon request or in job postings.

Directly affected

Department of Labor and Industry

The department and its secretary gain expanded administrative powers to inspect payrolls, issue subpoenas, impose administrative penalties, and utilize funds from the newly established Equal Pay Enforcement Fund.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

What factors are still permitted to justify wage differences between employees?

Employers may pay different wages if the variation is based on a bona fide seniority system, a bona fide merit system with written evaluation criteria, a system measuring earnings by production quantity or quality, or a bona fide factor other than sex, race, or ethnicity—such as education, training, or experience—that is job-related and consistent with .

Are employers allowed to ask job applicants about their previous salary?

No. Employers may not screen prospective employees based on wage history, require wage disclosure as a condition of employment or interview, or seek previous wage information from current or former employers, except to confirm prior wages after an employment offer with compensation has already been made and accepted for the purpose of supporting a higher wage.

What happens to the fines collected from employers who violate the law?

All fines imposed and collected for violations are deposited into the newly created Equal Pay Enforcement Fund in the State Treasury, which is continuously appropriated to the Department of Labor and Industry for enforcement activities.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

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Where This Stands

Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.

Procedural history

11 actions

May 16, 2025SenateCommittee
Referred to LABOR AND INDUSTRY, May 16, 2025
May 16, 2025Senate
In the Senate
May 5, 2025HouseFloor
Third consideration and final passage, May 5, 2025 (102-101)
May 5, 2025HouseCommittee
Re-reported as committed, May 5, 2025
Apr 24, 2025House
Re-committed to APPROPRIATIONS, April 24, 2025
Apr 24, 2025HouseFloor
Second consideration, April 24, 2025

Show 5 earlier actions

Apr 23, 2025House
Removed from table, April 23, 2025
Mar 25, 2025House
Laid on the table, March 25, 2025
Mar 25, 2025HouseIntroduced
First consideration, March 25, 2025
Mar 25, 2025HouseCommittee
Reported as committed, March 25, 2025
Mar 3, 2025HouseCommittee
Referred to LABOR AND INDUSTRY, March 3, 2025

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

Lobbying Activity

No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Related Legislation

State Bill

Pennsylvania House Bill 560 requires employers with 15 or more workers to disclose pay ranges in job postings and annual notices

Pennsylvania employers with 15 or more employees must disclose pay ranges and setting factors in job postings to applicants, in transfer or promotion

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift99% confidence

Expansion of Protected Classes and Enforcement

The bill expands Pennsylvania's historical equal pay framework beyond sex discrimination to explicitly cover race and ethnicity, while drastically increasing monetary penalties and establishing a dedicated enforcement fund.

Department of Labor and Industry Equal Pay Enforcement Fund

Connected Entities

Equal Pay Enforcement Fund, Department of Labor and Industry, Commonwealth Court and 1 more

OrganizationEqual Pay Enforcement Fund“Special fund established in the State Treasury to receive fines and fund enforce”Map →

OrganizationDepartment of Labor and Industry“Administers and enforces the Equal Pay Law”Map →

OrganizationCommonwealth Court“Court where the secretary may petition to enforce orders or subpoenas”Map →

locationState Treasury“Location where the Equal Pay Enforcement Fund is established”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.palegis.us

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance85
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy70
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment10
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz60
Current news / social attention level

Publisher tools

What This Bill Would Do

Who It Would Affect

Key Facts

Frequently Asked Questions

News Coverage

Where This Stands

Procedural history

Version history

Lobbying Activity

Full breakdown

Sponsors

Related Legislation

Pennsylvania House Bill 560 requires employers with 15 or more workers to disclose pay ranges in job postings and annual notices

Discoveries

Expansion of Protected Classes and Enforcement

Connected Entities

Sources

Analysis Score

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