00 HOUSE BILL NO. 146 01 "An Act relating to disclosure of information regarding employee compensation by 02 employers, employees, and applicants for employment; establishing the fund for 03 protection of compensation disclosure rights; and providing for an effective date." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05  * Section 1. AS 22.10.020(i) is amended to read: 06 (i) The superior court is the court of original jurisdiction over all causes of 07 action arising under the provisions of AS 18.80 or AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.790. A 08 person who is injured or aggrieved by an act, practice, or policy that [WHICH] is 09 prohibited under AS 18.80 or AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.790 may apply to the superior 10 court for relief. The person aggrieved or injured may maintain an action on behalf of 11 that person or on behalf of a class consisting of all persons who are aggrieved or 12 injured by the act, practice, or policy giving rise to the action. In an action brought 13 under this subsection, the court may grant relief as to any act, practice, or policy of the 14 defendant that [WHICH] is prohibited by AS 18.80 or AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.790, 01 regardless of whether each act, practice, or policy, with respect to which relief is 02 granted, directly affects the plaintiff, so long as a class or members of a class of which 03 the plaintiff is a member are or may be aggrieved or injured by the act, practice, or 04 policy. The court may enjoin any act, practice, or policy that [WHICH] is illegal 05 under AS 18.80 or AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.790 and may order any other relief, including 06 the payment of money, that is appropriate. 07  * Sec. 2. AS 23.10 is amended by adding new sections to read: 08 Article 9. Disclosure of Employee Compensation.  09 Sec. 23.10.700. Disclosure or discussion of wages. (a) An employer who 10 publishes a notice, advertisement, or other solicitation for employment shall include in 11 the notice, advertisement, or other solicitation a description of the compensation, 12 including the salary or range of salaries, for the position. 13 (b) An employer may not 14 (1) prohibit an employee or applicant for employment from disclosing 15 the employee's or applicant's compensation or discussing or asking about the 16 compensation of another; 17 (2) ask an applicant for employment about compensation the applicant 18 may have received from another employer; or 19 (3) prohibit an employee or applicant from helping or encouraging 20 another individual to exercise a right under this subsection. 21 (c) Nothing in this section 22 (1) creates an obligation for an employee or applicant for employment 23 to disclose information about the employee or applicant's compensation or the 24 compensation of another; 25 (2) prohibits an employee or applicant from voluntarily disclosing to 26 an employer information about the employee or applicant's compensation; 27 (3) prohibits an employer from considering or relying on information 28 disclosed under (2) of this subsection when determining the compensation of an 29 employee or applicant for employment. 30 Sec. 23.10.705. Posting summary required. An employer subject to 31 AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.790 shall keep a summary or abstract of the requirements in 01 AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.790 approved by the commissioner and post the summary or 02 abstract in a conspicuous location at a place where an employee is employed. Upon 03 request, the commissioner shall provide a copy of the summary or abstract to an 04 employer without charge. 05 Sec. 23.10.710. Retaliation prohibited. An employer may not discharge, 06 discipline, threaten, discriminate against, or penalize an employee for exercising a 07 right under AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.790 or participating in or benefitting from a 08 complaint, claim, trial, agreement, or investigation resulting from an alleged violation 09 of AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.790. 10 Sec. 23.10.715. Damages for retaliation. An employee who has been 11 discharged, disciplined, threatened, discriminated against, or penalized in violation of 12 AS 23.10.710 may file a civil claim against the employer for damages, including 13 reinstatement and lost wages, separate from and in addition to a fine recoverable by 14 the state under AS 23.10.725. 15 Sec. 23.10.720. Statute of limitations. An action under AS 23.10.715 may be 16 filed not later than three years after the injury to the aggrieved employee last occurs. 17 Sec. 23.10.725. Penalty. (a) A violation of AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.790 or a 18 regulation or order of the commissioner issued under AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.790 is 19 punishable by a fine of not less than $100 or more than $2,000 as determined by the 20 commissioner. 21 (b) Each day a violation occurs may constitute a separate violation as 22 determined by the commissioner. 23 (c) If an employer conducts an internal audit for the purpose of avoiding or 24 correcting violations of AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.790, the commissioner may reduce the 25 amount of a fine otherwise payable under this section. 26 Sec. 23.10.730. Fund for protection of compensation disclosure rights. (a) 27 The fund for protection of compensation disclosure rights is created as a special 28 account in the general fund. The fund consists of the amount determined and deposited 29 into the fund under (b) of this section. The purpose of the fund is to provide a source 30 from which the legislature may appropriate money to the department to offset the 31 state's cost of enforcing AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.790. 01 (b) The legislature may appropriate to the fund fines collected by the 02 department under AS 23.10.725 or money awarded to the department under a court 03 order for attorney fees and costs under Rule 82, Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure. 04 (c) The legislature may make appropriations from the fund for the purpose 05 described in (a) of this section. 06 (d) Nothing in this section creates a dedicated fund. 07 Sec. 23.10.735. Regulations. The commissioner shall adopt regulations under 08 AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) to implement and interpret AS 23.10.700 - 09 23.10.790. 10 Sec. 23.10.790. Definitions. In AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.790, 11 (1) "employee" means a person in the service of an employer; 12 (2) "employer" means the state, the University of Alaska, the Alaska 13 Railroad Corporation, a political subdivision of the state, and a person who employs 14 one or more other persons. 15  * Sec. 3. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 16 read: 17 APPLICABILITY. AS 22.10.020(i), as amended by sec. 1 of this Act, and 18 AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.790, enacted by sec. 2 of this Act, apply to compensation for services 19 performed on or after the effective date of this Act. 20  * Sec. 4. This Act takes effect July 1, 2021.