The Mississippi Equal Pay for Equal Work Reform Act; enact.

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To: Judiciary, Division A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Blackmon

SENATE BILL NO. 2137

AN ACT TO ENACT THE MISSISSIPPI EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK 1
REFORM ACT; TO AMEND SECTION 71-17-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 2
DEFINE NEW TERMS; TO AUTHORIZE THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE 3
MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT SECURITY TO DETERMINE 4
PROTECTED CHARACTERISTICS; TO AMEND SECTION 71-17-5, MISSISSIPPI 5
CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT NO EMPLOYER MAY PAY AN EMPLOYEE A 6
WAGE AT A RATE LESS THAN THE RATE AT WHICH AN EMPLOYEE WHO DOES 7
NOT HAVE A PROTECTED CHARACTERISTIC IN THE SAME ESTABLISHMENT IS 8
PAID FOR EQUAL WORK ON A JOB, THE PERFORMANCE OF WHICH REQUIRES 9
EQUAL SKILL, EDUCATION, EFFORT AND RESPONSIBILITY, AND WHICH IS 10
PERFORMED UNDER SIMILAR WORKING CONDITIONS EXCEPT UNDER CERTAIN 11
CIRCUMSTANCES; TO AUTHORIZE THE RECOVERY OF PUNITIVE DAMAGES IN 12
CIVIL ACTIONS BY EMPLOYEES; TO AUTHORIZE THE MISSISSIPPI 13
DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT SECURITY TO FILE SUIT TO ENFORCE THIS 14
CHAPTER; TO PROHIBIT EMPLOYERS FROM RETALIATING AGAINST ANY 15
EMPLOYEE FOR DISCUSSING OR DISCLOSING HIS OR HER WAGES FOR THE 16
PURPOSE OF IDENTIFYING WAGE DISPARITIES; TO REQUIRE THE 17
MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT SECURITY TO ENFORCE CHAPTER 18
17 OF TITLE 71; TO AUTHORIZE THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF 19
EMPLOYMENT SECURITY TO INVESTIGATE CLAIMS AND MEDIATE CLAIMS 20
BETWEEN AN EMPLOYER AND AN EMPLOYEE TO DIRECT CODIFICATION; AND 21
FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 22
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 23
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the 24
"Mississippi Equal Pay for Equal Work Reform Act." 25
SECTION 2. Section 71-17-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 26
amended as follows: 27
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71-17-3. For the purposes of this chapter, the following 28
words and phrases shall have the meanings as defined in this 29
section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: 30
(a) "Employee" means any individual who is employed to 31
work forty (40) or more hours a week and who is employed by an 32
employer, including individuals employed by the state or any of 33
its political subdivisions or instrumentalities of subdivisions. 34
(b) "Employer" means any person who employs five (5) or 35
more employees. 36
(c) "Wage" means and includes all compensation paid by 37
an employer or his or her agent for the performance of service by 38
an employee, including the cash value of all compensation paid in 39
any medium other than cash. 40
(d) "Rate" with reference to wages means the basis of 41
compensation for services by an employee for an employer and 42
includes compensation based on time spent in the performance of 43
such services, on the number of operations accomplished, or on the 44
quality produced or handled. 45
(e) "Unpaid wages" means the difference between the 46
wages actually paid to an employee and the wages required to be 47
paid to an employee as provided in this chapter. 48
(f) "Skill" means and shall be measured by factors such 49
as experience, ability, education and training that are required 50
to perform a job. 51
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(g) "Effort" means the amount of physical or mental 52
exertion needed to perform a job. 53
(h) "Responsibility" means the degree of accountability 54
required to perform the job. 55
(i) "Working Conditions" means and includes the 56
following two (2) factors: 57
(i) The physical surroundings of a job including, 58
but not limited to, temperature, fumes and ventilation; and 59
(ii) The hazards of the job. 60
(j) "Protected characteristic" means sex, race or any 61
other characteristic determined to be protected by the executive 62
director. 63
(k) "Department" has the meaning assigned under Section 64
71–5–11. 65
(l) "Executive director" has the meaning assigned under 66
Section 71–5–11. 67
SECTION 3. Section 71-17-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 68
amended as follows: 69
71-17-5. (1) No employer may pay an employee a wage at a 70
rate less than the rate at which an employee * * * who does not 71
have a protected characteristic in the same establishment is paid 72
for equal work on a job, the performance of which requires equal 73
skill, education, effort and responsibility, and which is 74
performed under similar working conditions, except where payment 75
is made pursuant to differential based on: 76
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(a) A seniority system; 77
(b) A merit system; 78
(c) A system which measures earnings by quantity or 79
quality of production; or 80
(d) Any other factor other than * * * a protected 81
characteristic. "Any other factor other than * * * a protected 82
characteristic" shall include, but not be limited to, the 83
following factors: 84
(i) The salary history or continuity of employment 85
history demonstrated by the employee as compared to 86
employees * * * without protected characteristics in the same 87
establishment; 88
(ii) The extent to which there was competition 89
with other employers for the employee's services as compared to 90
employees * * * without protected characteristics in the same 91
establishment; and 92
(iii) The extent to which the employee attempted 93
to negotiate for higher wages as compared to employees * * * 94
without protected characteristics in the same establishment. 95
(2) (a) The provisions of this chapter may be enforced by 96
private action in a civil suit in the circuit court in the county 97
in Mississippi where the cause of action occurred pursuant to the 98
Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure. An employee may not file a 99
private action where the employee elected to mediate his or her 100
claim under Section 4(2) of this act. 101
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(b) If an employer is found to have violated the 102
provisions of subsection (1) of this section, the employee shall 103
be awarded reasonable attorney's fees, prejudgment interest, back 104
pay, punitive damages and costs of the action. 105
(3) This chapter may be enforced by suit filed by the 106
department in the circuit court in the county in Mississippi where 107
the cause of action occurred pursuant to the Mississippi Rules of 108
Civil Procedure. If the department files suit against an 109
employer, the department shall file a motion to consolidate any 110
other pending suits against the employer under the authority of 111
the chapter. Subject to the discretion of the court, there shall 112
be a presumption in favor of consolidation of the actions. 113
( * * *4) An employer who is paying a wage differential in 114
violation of this chapter shall not, in order to comply with this 115
chapter, reduce the wage rate of any employee. 116
( * * *5) No employer may discharge, discriminate or in any 117
way retaliate against any employee by reason of any action taken 118
by the employee to invoke or assist in any manner the enforcement 119
of this chapter. 120
(6) No employer may discharge, discriminate or in any way 121
retaliate against any employee for discussing or disclosing his or 122
her wages for the purpose of identifying wage disparities. 123
SECTION 4. (1) The department shall enforce the provisions 124
of this chapter 125
(2) The department may investigate claims of discrimination. 126
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(3) Upon agreement by the parties, the department may 127
mediate a claim of discrimination between an employee and 128
employer. 129
(4) (a) The right to appeal from the decision of the 130
department in an administrative hearing authorized pursuant to 131
this section is hereby granted. Such appeal shall be to the 132
Circuit Court of Hinds County and shall include a verbatim 133
transcript of the testimony at the hearing. The appeal shall be 134
taken within thirty (30) calendar days after notice of the 135
decision of the commission following an administrative hearing. 136
The appeal shall be perfected upon filing notice of the appeal and 137
by the prepayment of all costs, including the cost of the 138
preparation of the record of the proceedings by the commission. 139
(b) If there is an appeal, such appeal shall act as a 140
supersedeas. The court shall dispose of the appeal and enter its 141
decision promptly. The hearing on the appeal may be tried in 142
vacation, in the court's discretion. The scope of review of the 143
court shall be limited to a review of the record made before the 144
commission to determine if the action of the commission is 145
unlawful for the reason that it was (i) not supported by 146
substantial evidence, (ii) arbitrary or capricious, (iii) beyond 147
the power of the commission to make, or (iv) in violation of some 148
statutory or constitutional right of the appellant. The decision 149
of the court may be appealed to the Supreme Court in the manner 150
provided by law. 151
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ST: The Mississippi Equal Pay for Equal Work
Reform Act; enact.
SECTION 5. Section 4 of this act shall be codified within 152
Chapter 17, Title 71, Mississippi Code of 1972. 153
SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from 154
and after July 1, 2026. 155