Articles Discussing Equal Pay In The Workplace.

Pay equity between men and women – and among different races – has long been a concern for employers who want to ensure they are paying people according to job-related reasons, in compliance with anti-discrimination laws, and in a way that aligns with the organization’s practices and philosophies. In the

A federal jury in Iowa has rejected Equal Pay Act claims by a female physician alleging she was paid less than her male colleagues in the same network for performing substantially equal work under the same compensation formula. Bertroche v. Mercy Physician Assoc., Inc., No. 1:18-cv-00059 (N.D. Iowa Nov. 13, 2019).

A majority of employers (60%) are not only conducting analyses to identify and address pay equity issues, but are conducting analyses with the objective of “resolving the root causes” of identified pay inequities, according to “Pay Equity Practices – Survey of C-Suite and Reward Leaders” from WorldatWork and Korn Ferry.

Pay equity challenges continue to make the news in the healthcare setting, primarily in the context of physician pay equity gaps. This month, the journal Pediatrics published data from the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Pediatrician Life and Career Experience Study (PLACE), which included 1,000 physician responses on income and 1,300 responses on household responsibilities.

State pay equity laws, in large part, has been a response to a perception that the federal government is not acting effectively or quickly enough to address gender and race pay gaps. Not surprisingly, several democratic presidential candidates have staked out platforms on how they will address pay inequities at the federal level – some more specific than others.

Since 2016, hundreds of bills and dozens of new laws aimed at closing the pay gap have been introduced and enacted at both the state and local levels. These laws include jurisdiction-specific pay equity laws, salary history inquiry bans, and wage transparency protections. Each of these types of laws are described more fully below.

The pay gap – or paying women and other historically marginalized groups less for the same or substantially similar work – has increasingly been in the media spotlight. Politicians have also taken note. While there have been pay discrimination laws on the books at the federal level and in most states for decades, over the past several years, state and local governments and Puerto Rico have passed numerous new laws all aimed at closing the pay gap.

On the heels of the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team’s World Cup win, Governor Andrew Cuomo on July 10, 2019, signed into law two bills that expand New York’s existing equal pay laws.

On March 27, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 7, the Paycheck Fairness Act. The bill would amend the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) to expand potential damage awards for equal pay claims, limit an employer’s ability to raise the “any factor other than sex” affirmative defense in wage discrimination cases, and make it unlawful for an employer to prevent employees from discussing or comparing salaries, among other changes.1 Given the political makeup of the Senate, this bill is unlikely to advance much further this legislative season. Because the issue of pay equity is gaining ground, however, the bill may be used as a campaign talking point as the next election approaches. In addition, states have been picking up the legislative slack, so similar bills could advance in local state houses.

Equal Pay Day symbolizes how far into the current year women must work, on average, to reach the same level of compensation that male workers earned in the prior year in the United States. Falling on April 2, this year, 17 days earlier than in 2005, Equal Pay Day 2019 shows movement toward pay equity.

This is the final article in our four-part series titled “Rethinking Pay Equity,” designed to provide practical guidance to help employers understand and address the many new rules, regulations, and best practices around pay equity in preparation for Equal Pay Day 2019. This article focuses on the increasing pressures on employers to publicly address pay equity and the issues to be considered in deciding whether to go public about pay. The four-part series will culminate in a complimentary webinar on April 2, Equal Pay Day, by the Co-Chairs of the Jackson Lewis Pay Equity Resource Group, Joy Chin and Stephanie Lewis.

This is the third article in our four-part series titled “Rethinking Pay Equity,” designed to provide practical guidance to help employers understand and address the many new rules, regulations, and best practices around pay equity in preparation for Equal Pay Day 2019.

This is the second article in our four-part series titled “Rethinking Pay Equity,” designed to provide practical guidance to help employers understand and address the many new rules, regulations, and best practices around pay equity in preparation for Equal Pay Day 2019.

The Jackson Lewis Pay Equity Resource Group is pleased to announce a special series to help employers prepare for Equal Pay Day. “Rethinking Pay Equity” will take a look at several of the biggest questions facing employers in the ever-evolving #equalpay landscape, including: How can prior salary information perpetuate the persistent pay gap, and how should we measure and address the impact of years-long reliance on such information in the hiring process? What data should we use when reviewing pay? Who should be compared against whom? What do we do if pay analyses reveal a problem? Should the company voluntarily make public disclosures about pay?

This is the first in our four-part series titled “Rethinking Pay Equity,” a special series of legal alerts aimed at providing practical guidance to help employers address the many new rules, regulations, and best practices around equal pay in preparation for Equal Pay Day 2019. The series will culminate with a unique, complimentary webinar on April 2, Equal Pay Day, by the Co-Chairs of the Jackson Lewis Pay Equity Resource Group.