Good practice

Lei do Colorado sobre Igualdade de Remuneração pelo Mesmo Trabalho (2021) — Transparência Salarial Obrigatória e Paridade Remuneratória

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

A Lei do Colorado sobre Igualdade de Remuneração pelo Mesmo Trabalho (SB19-085), em vigor desde 1 de janeiro de 2021, obriga todos os empregadores a divulgar as faixas salariais nos anúncios de emprego e proíbe a discriminação remuneratória com base no sexo. Até outubro de 2024 o organismo de fiscalização estadual registou 1.747 queixas e cobrou 238.000 USD em coimas; investigação independente documenta um aumento de 3,6% nos salários anunciados e uma redução mensurável do diferencial salarial de género. O modelo foi adotado por mais de 15 estados norte-americanos e influenciou a Diretiva Europeia sobre Transparência Salarial (2023/970/UE).

1,747

Queixas de discriminação salarial apresentadas (to Oct 2024)

Lei do Colorado sobre Igualdade de Remuneração pelo Mesmo Trabalho (2021) — Transparência Salarial Obrigatória e Paridade Remuneratória

Details

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

Context

A Equal Pay for Equal Work Act do Colorado (SB19-085), em vigor desde 1 de janeiro de 2021, obriga os empregadores a divulgar intervalos salariais nos anúncios de emprego e proíbe a discriminação salarial baseada no sexo.

Results

Até outubro de 2024, o organismo estatal de fiscalização tinha recebido 1 747 queixas e recuperado salários em atraso; está entre as primeiras leis de transparência salarial obrigatória dos EUA.

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. Lei do Colorado sobre Igualdade de Remuneração pelo Mesmo Trabalho (2021) — Transparência Salarial Obrigatória e Paridade Remuneratória. Persistent ID: 8c0a157f-e682-4231-9077-9cd8d94a861d.

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