You may recall that last year, we reported on a Ninth Circuit case, Rizo v. Yovino, wherein the Court of Appeal held that an applicant’s prior salary history is a “factor other than sex” that an employer may rely on, either alone or in combination with other factors, in setting pay rates–even though the use of that factor may result in men and women being paid different rates of pay for similar work. In so holding, the Court of Appeal relied on its own prior precedent (dating back to 1982), Kouba v. Allstate, wherein the Court expressly held that this was permissible and could not support a federal Equal Pay Act violation.
Home > Federal Law Articles > Sex and Gender Discrimination > Equal Pay > Ninth Circuit Reverses Its Own Precedent and Newly Holds That Prior Salary History Cannot Justify a Pay Disparity Between Men and Women