Fair Pay: Louisiana

Fair Pay requirements for other states

Federal law and guidance on this subject should be reviewed together with this section.

Author: Brightmine Editorial Team

Summary

  • The Louisiana Employment Discrimination Law prohibits pay discrimination on the basis of certain protected characteristics. See Equal Pay Laws.
  • Louisiana does not have a law that requires private employers to submit data regarding the compensation and demographics of their workforce to a state government agency. See Pay Data Reporting.
  • Louisiana does not have a pay transparency law that requires employees to disclose pay ranges to applicants and employees. See Pay Transparency.
  • Louisiana does not restrict an employer from inquiring into or relying upon an applicant's salary history. See Salary History Inquiries.
  • Louisiana law does not specifically address the right of an employee to discuss or disclose their own wages. See Employee Wage Disclosure Rights.

Equal Pay Laws

The Louisiana Employment Discrimination Law (LEDL) prohibits all forms of discrimination, including discrimination in compensation, on the basis of any protected characteristic. The LEDL also specifically prohibits intentional sex-based pay discrimination between employees performing equal work in jobs requiring equal, skill, effort and responsibility that are performed under similar working conditions.

+La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 23:332.

Applicability

The LEDL applies to any employer that employs 20 or more employees within Louisiana for 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, except for:

  • Nonprofit organizations;
  • Certain religious institutions; and
  • Religiously affiliated educational establishments.

+La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 23.302.

Protected Characteristics

The LEDL  prohibits pay discrimination on the basis of:

  • Race;
  • Age (40 and older);
  • Disability that is unrelated to an individual's ability to perform the job duties of a particular position;
  • Color;
  • Religion;
  • Sex;
  • Pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions;
  • Genetic information;
  • Sickle cell trait;
  • National origin; and
  • Natural, protective or cultural hairstyle.

+La. Rev. Stat. § 23.312; +La. Rev. Stat. § 23.323; +La. Rev. Stat. § 23.332; +La. Rev. Stat. § 23.342; +La. Rev. Stat. § 23.352; +La. Rev. Stat. § 23.368.

Permissible Sources of Pay Differentials

The LEDL provides that as long as any differences are not the result of intentional discrimination on the basis of a protected characteristic, a pay differential may be justified on the basis of:

  • A bona fide seniority or merit system;
  • A system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of production;
  • Different work locations;
  • A professionally developed ability test, as long as the test is not designed, intended or used to discriminate on the basis of a protected characteristic; or
  • Any other factor other than a protected characteristic.

An employer may not reduce the wage rate of any employee in order to eliminate an unlawful sex- or age-based wage disparity.

+La. Rev. Stat. § 23.312; +La. Rev. Stat. § 23.332.

Recordkeeping

See Recordkeeping for Employee Compensation Purposes: Louisiana for information about recordkeeping requirements under the Louisiana wage and hour law.

The LEDL does not specifically address recordkeeping.

Enforcement and Remedies

See Discrimination: Louisiana for information on enforcement and remedies under the LEDL.

Retaliation Protections

See Retaliation: Louisiana for information about anti-retaliation protections under the LEDL.

Notice and Posting Requirements

See Discrimination: Louisiana for information about required postings under the LEDL.

Pay Data Reporting

Louisiana does not currently have a law that requires private employers to submit data regarding the compensation and demographics of their workforce to a state government agency.

Pay Transparency

Louisiana does not currently have a pay transparency law that requires employers to disclose the pay range for a position to applicants or employees.

Salary History Inquiries

Louisiana does not restrict an employer from inquiring into or relying upon an applicant's salary history.

Employee Wage Disclosure Rights

Louisiana law does not specifically address the right of an employee to discuss or disclose their own wages. See Fair Pay: Federal for information about federal law regarding employee discussion of wages.

Future Developments

There are no developments to report at this time. Continue to check HR & Compliance Center regularly for the latest information on this and other topics.