diff --git a/etemplate/inc/class.so_sql.inc.php b/etemplate/inc/class.so_sql.inc.php
index 783aead36a..e65a6810e4 100644
--- a/etemplate/inc/class.so_sql.inc.php
+++ b/etemplate/inc/class.so_sql.inc.php
@@ -519,7 +519,7 @@ class so_sql
 					{
 						$col = $c;
 					}
-					if ($val == "!''")
+					if ($val === "!''")
 					{
 						$db_filter[] = $col." != ''";
 					}