The board overseeing the new law banning Cleveland employers from asking job applicants about salary history wants it to be an ordinance in more than just name.
“We now have a law that can move up wages for those of modest means and the struggling middle class, but it has to be enforced,” said John Ryan, consultant to the Fair Employment Wage Board. “If not, it will be like having a speed zone with no enforcement. Compliance will probably be minimal.”
The board, which will work with Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration in enforcing the law, is devising a strategy that includes a way for workers to file complaints. Ryan, who was the long time state director for former Sen. Sherrod Brown, said that “part of the enforcement is education.” Board members are prioritizing outreach and education efforts. They plan to build coalitions with labor organizations, community groups and others.
When employers have to post wage ranges for job postings, and are not allowed to ask about prior pay in order to send low ball offers, these people are paid closer to what they are due.”
Matt Ashton, chairman of Cleveland’s Fair Employment Wage Board
Matt Ashton, who chairs the board, said many workers aren’t aware of their rights under Cleveland’s wage and employment laws and some employers are ignorant of them.
In addition to the most recent law, Cleveland also has laws on the books banning wage theft and requiring that workers employed by the city and contractors get paid at least a certain wage.
Wage theft is when employers cheat workers out of wages, which can include paying less than the minimum wage or not compensating them for working extra hours. Cleveland requires that city employees or those working for companies with city contracts be paid Cleveland’s fair employment wage. Currently, it is set at $15.85 an hour or $32,968 annually for salaried workers.
The board is making plans to enforce those laws, too.
“Creating a partner network to help broadcast to both workers, owners and corporations will assist in making many people whole,” Ashton wrote in an email to Signal Cleveland. “Companies can do the right thing before seeing punitive action, and workers will start to see how they can report wrongdoings without retaliation.”
Cleveland aims for new law to improve pay for workers
The pay equity and transparency ordinance that council members passed this week is under the board’s purview. In addition to banning questions about a job applicant’s current or previous salary, the law requires employers to include salary ranges and scales in all formal job postings. Employers who fail to follow the law could face fines of up to $5,000 for each offense. The law applies to businesses with at least 15 employees.
“It is important that there’s extra protections for workers in Cleveland, especially at a time when the state is looking to roll back laws protecting workers, including children,” said Ryan, who was state director for former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, of a bill that would allow 14- and 15-year-olds to work until 9 p.m. “The federal government is eliminating many of the people who provide enforcement of laws designed to protect workers.”
For example, employees at the National Labor Relations Board have been included in the Trump administration’s termination of federal workers.
Pay transparency laws have grown in popularity in the past few years with places such as New York state and Washington, D.C., enacting them. Advocates say these laws help prevent workers from being underpaid and assist in reducing widespread pay disparities, which disproportionately affect people of color and women.
The Cleveland legislation’s preamble, or introduction, mentions the gender wage gap and how Black women and Latinas are among the hardest hit by it. Black women make 66 cents on the dollar and Latinas 58 cents, according to an analysis of 2023 Census data by the American Association of University Women.
“When employers have to post wage ranges for job postings, and are not allowed to ask about prior pay in order to send low ball offers, these people are paid closer to what they are due,” Ashton wrote.
Cleveland board to create ways for workers to file complaints
The history of the board offers an example about what could happen when an ordinance is not enforced. No one, including city officials, seems to know, or at least no one will say publicly, why the board formed in 2001 never met until 2024.
In essence it is a nascent body that must figure out how the city will enforce the pay equity and transparency ordinance and other wage and employment laws. The work ahead includes creating mission and vision statements and bylaws. More importantly, the board must come up with a mechanism for workers to file complaints and determine which city departments will be involved in enforcement, Ashton said.
He said the board will determine when an employer has violated city wage and employment laws. As a volunteer body with fewer than 10 people, he said it is impractical for the board to carry out the actual enforcement of its decisions. Ashton said the law departments will “carry the stick behind” the board’s decision to ensure ongoing compliance.
”All good things come about with teamwork, and in this case we will need to work hand in hand with the city to be truly effective,” he wrote.
The board is only required to meet quarterly but has decided to meet monthly.
“[W]e have decided on a more aggressive schedule to get all the wheels in motion and systems in place as soon as possible,” Ashton wrote.
Cleveland Documenter Alicia Moreland has more from the April 24 Fair Employment Wage Board meeting, including:
