DENVER — Equal pay for equal work is the law of the land in Colorado, again, after Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill Wednesday at the Capitol.
Senate Bill 85 puts state enforcement behind the federal Equal Pay Act, which passed in 1963. Polis began his address before signing the bill Wednesday by pointing out that then-Sen. Polly Baca introduced the first Colorado equal pay legislation in 1980.
"It took 39 years to get it done, but we got it done," Polis said.
Democrats have tried and failed for years to pass such a pay parity law, but Republicans then in the Senate majority bottled up the bill. Democrats won the majority in the chamber last November, however.
The new law gives direct authority to an individual to sue an employer over discrimination complaints based on gender. Currently, the state investigates complaints and enforces existing law, which supporters of the new law said offered virtually no protections or guarantees.
The law also requires more transparency on pay and job openings, while preventing an employer from asking about a person's pay history.
Polis lauded the work of the bill's sponsors: Sens. Jessie Danielson of Wheat Ridge and Brittany Pettersen of Lakewood, with Reps. Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez of Denver and Janet Buckner of Aurora.
Danielson spoke at the bill-signing ceremony holding her 2-year-old daughter, Isabelle Kabza.
"Thanks to this bill, Isabelle's career will be on a very different path," the senator said. "She will actually earn what she should and not be discriminated against because she's a woman.
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