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Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the summary and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 1. 26 MRSA §628, first ¶,  as amended by PL 2001, c. 304, §2, is further amended to read:
An employer may not discriminate between employees in the same establishment on the basis of sex by paying wages to any employee in any occupation in this State at a rate less than the rate at which the employer pays any employee of the opposite sex for comparable work on jobs that have comparable requirements relating to skill, effort and responsibility. Differentials that are paid pursuant to established seniority systems or merit increase systems or difference in the shift or time of the day worked that do not discriminate on the basis of sex are not within this prohibition. An employer may not discharge or discriminate against any employee by reason of any action taken by such employee to invoke or assist in any manner the enforcement of this section. An employer may not prohibit an employee from disclosing the employee's own wages or from inquiring about another employee's wages if the purpose of the disclosure or inquiry is to enforce the rights granted by this section. Nothing in this section creates an obligation to disclose wages.’
 
SUMMARY
This amendment clarifies that an employer may neither prohibit the inquiry nor the disclosure of an employee's wages for the purpose of enforcing the equal pay statute. It also states that there is no obligation to disclose wages.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)