Good practice

Ley de Colorado sobre Igual Pago por Igual Trabajo (2021) — Transparencia Salarial Obligatoria e Igualdad de Remuneración

United States of America · Denver · See the United States of America profile

La Ley de Colorado sobre Igual Pago por Igual Trabajo (SB19-085), en vigor desde el 1 de enero de 2021, exige a todos los empleadores que divulguen las bandas salariales en las ofertas de empleo y prohíbe la discriminación retributiva por razón de sexo. Para octubre de 2024 el organismo estatal de control había recibido 1.747 denuncias y recaudado 238.000 USD en multas; investigaciones independientes documentan un incremento del 3,6% en los salarios publicados y una reducción mensurable de la brecha salarial de género. El modelo ha sido adoptado por más de 15 estados de EE.UU. e influyó en la Directiva europea sobre Transparencia Retributiva (2023/970/UE).

1,747

Denuncias por discriminación salarial presentadas (to Oct 2024)

Ley de Colorado sobre Igual Pago por Igual Trabajo (2021) — Transparencia Salarial Obligatoria e Igualdad de Remuneración

Details

Maturity: Established
Promoter: Colorado Department of Labor and Employment
Period: 2021–present
Keywords: government, employment law, pay equity, salary transparency

Context

La Equal Pay for Equal Work Act de Colorado (SB19-085), en vigor desde el 1 de enero de 2021, obliga a los empleadores a indicar los rangos salariales en las ofertas de empleo y prohíbe la discriminación salarial por razón de sexo.

Results

Hasta octubre de 2024, el organismo estatal de control había recibido 1.747 denuncias y recuperado salarios atrasados; es una de las primeras leyes de transparencia salarial obligatoria de EE. UU.

Implementation

Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

C-NAPSE web research — accessed 2026-06-23
Colorado Department of Labor and Employment — accessed 2026-06-23
Colorado General Assembly – SB19-085 (full text) — accessed 2026-06-23
CDLE – Equal Pay for Equal Work Act guidance — accessed 2026-06-23
ILG Denver – Status of EPEWA enforcement (Oct 2024) — accessed 2026-06-23

Attachments

Source image

Quality score: 100/100

How is this calculated?

Evidence: Observational / pre–post

Top 1% in this catalogue (719 scored practices)

Scores cluster high, so position within the catalogue is often more telling than the number alone.

Evaluation

Evaluated by C-NAPSE

Score profile — the dimensions behind the score — how it's computed

Transferability / replicability3/3

Adopted verbatim by 15+ US states and cited as a model for the EU Pay Transparency Directive (2023/970/EU), making Colorado's salary-disclosure framework the most-replicated state-level pay-equity mechanism in the world.

Impact on gender equality1/1

Independent research documents a 3.6% increase in advertised wages for Colorado workers post-enactment and a measurable narrowing of the state's gender pay gap, with gains accruing to women without reducing men's pay.

Effectiveness1/1

The DLSS enforcement mechanism recorded 1,747 complaints and 20 citations resulting in $238,000 in fines by October 2024, demonstrating continuous compliance pressure and active deterrence.

Efficiency1/1

Enforcement is largely self-funded via statutory fines ($500–$10,000 per posting violation), keeping public expenditure low while generating broad market-wide incentives for voluntary compliance.

Evaluated outcomes1/1

CDLE publishes enforcement statistics; independent research by Trusaic (2023) used posted-salary data across states to quantify the 3.6% wage premium attributable to Colorado's law.

Sustainability1/1

EPEWA is a permanent state statute with bipartisan support; it was strengthened by 2024 amendments, confirming sustained legislative commitment to salary transparency.

Achievement / evidence1/1

Within three years of enactment, wage disclosure in job postings became universal practice among Colorado employers, a structural market shift documented by employers and recruitment platforms.

Gender-mainstreaming embedding1/1

The law applies to all employers (public and private) across every sector and occupation, embedding pay equity as a standard employment-law obligation rather than a voluntary corporate pledge.

Curator validation1/1

Legislation, CDLE enforcement data and independent wage-effect research are all publicly accessible from authoritative sources on distinct domains.

Cite this

Evidoria. Ley de Colorado sobre Igual Pago por Igual Trabajo (2021) — Transparencia Salarial Obligatoria e Igualdad de Remuneración. Persistent ID: 8c0a157f-e682-4231-9077-9cd8d94a861d.

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