Hartford Business Insurance: Executive Orders for Equal Compensation 
In anticipation of the likely dismissal of his proposed compensation legislation up for discussion in Senate, President Obama is prepared to issue and executive order barring federal contracting organizations from prosecuting employees who discuss their pay. The order effectively eliminates punishment and retaliation for employee discourse about earnings, in hopes of generating public awareness of discrepancies and pressure businesses to enforce equal treatment of workers. He has also arranged to sign an additional directive with the Labor Department to require that federal contractors include gender and racial compensation statistics in their data reports.
The original Senate bill proposal forwardly hopes to establish policies implementing equal pay regardless of race and gender; its fate has yet to be decided however speculations suggest that the bill will not pass. It is likely the new executive orders will indirectly have a similar effect to those intended by the bill. Entities working with President Obama believe the primary function of the orders to be information generation for policymakers and workers. The goal is to generate conscientious decision and policy making in regards to employment, as well as to better understand where compensation discrepancies occur and why.
These legislations arise just over a month after another executive order was issued mandating the minimum rate of pay increase from $7.25 to $10.10 for all federal contracting organizations. This effort was to encourage state and individual business owners to follow suit and increase wages for their workers to stimulate economic growth. The bill hopes to inspire through demonstration, by showing the nation’s business owners and governing bodies that increasing employee compensation can be sustainable and mutually beneficial.
Decreased secrecy surrounding employee compensation can have a detrimental effect for those employers who may have inconsistent practices, in-turn opening businesses up to legal prosecution themselves. If employees get chatty about their wage discrepancies employers could find a rise in wage discrimination claims to follow, not to mention other legal implications. That’s why having the right Hartford business insurance coverage is vital.
At Sinclair we offer a variety of Business Insurance policies and Risk Management services to help protect your organization from unwanted legal complications. Our Employment Practices Liability coverage can mitigate the damage of a wage discrimination dispute and help cover legal fees and expenses. Contact us at (877) 602-2305 to find out how we can help you develop creative, unique solutions that are in step with an ever-changing and challenging economic landscape that affect your business.