You Can Ask About It, But You Can’t Rely Upon It: Finally, a Resolution to the Constitutionality of Philadelphia’s Wage Equity Ordinance Seeking to Ban the Misuse of Salary History Information

According to the late great Tom Petty, “the waiting is the hardest part.” The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (the “Court”), however, begs to differ with The Heartbreakers’ leading man. After waiting for over a year to receive a decision from the aforementioned Court with respect to the constitutionality of Pennsylvania’s Wage Equity Ordinance (the “Ordinance”), employers are left with more questions than answers.[1]

[1] On December 8, 2016, Philadelphia City Council passed Philadelphia Bill No. 16084 which was the Ordinance in its original iteration. The Ordinance was signed into law by Mayor Jim Kenney on January 23, 2017. It was to take effect on May 23, 2017. On April 6, 2017, The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Ordinance as unconstitutional in violation of businesses’ First Amendment rights, and also sought a Preliminary Injunction enjoining enforcement of the Ordinance. Thereafter, the Court entered a stay as to enforcement of the Ordinance, and, after extensive briefing and oral argument on the matter, the Court issued its ruling on April 20, 2018.