Judge Tanya S. Chutkan has ordered initial compliance with the EEO-1 pay data reporting obligation by September 30, 2019. As we previously reported, the EEOC has informed the court it could complete collection of data by September 30th by utilizing the services of a third party vendor, though there would be quality and integrity concerns. … Continue Reading
Colorado legislators are only a few steps away from approving the Colorado “Equal Pay for Equal Work Act” (SB 19-085) and making Colorado the latest state to enact enhanced equal pay legislation. Colorado’s 2019 Equal Pay Law, as originally introduced in January, would likely have been the most aggressive equal pay law in the nation. … Continue Reading
It appears employers will need to wait a bit longer to learn when they will be required to file their EEO-1 pay data. In an order filed April 11, Judge Tanya S. Chutkan set a hearing for 2:00 p.m. Eastern on April 16, 2019 for the parties to present their cases regarding the government’s compliance with her order … Continue Reading
In a status update filed April 3, 2019, the government informed the court that EEOC could complete collection of the required EEO-1 Component 2 pay data by September 30, 2019, but only if it utilized a third party data collector to do so. The update was filed in response to Judge Tanya S. Chutkan’s request that the government provide the court with … Continue Reading
Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives continue to call for stronger protections to combat wage inequality. By a vote of 242-187, the House recently passed the Paycheck Fairness Act to enhance the federal protections guaranteed under the EPA. Currently, to defend against an EPA claim, an employer can assert any of four defenses to … Continue Reading
On April 2, Equal Pay Day, Maine’s House and Senate passed a bill prohibiting employers from asking about a potential worker’s wage history before making a job offer. L.D. 278 passed the Maine House by a vote of 86-54 after clearing the Maine Senate by a vote of 22-11 earlier in the day. If Governor … Continue Reading
The U.S. District Court hearing the EEO-1 pay data reporting case has ordered EEOC to inform employers by April 3, 2019, whether they will be required to provide pay and hours worked data for the 2018 EEO-1 reporting cycle. The current deadline for 2018 EEO-1 reporting is May 31, 2019. As we reported on March … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
Once again, the Illinois Legislature is working to pass more aggressive equal pay laws. HB 834 includes not only a pay history ban, but also additional amendments to strengthen pay equity protections and pay transparency provisions. Pay History In 2017, and at the end of 2018, former Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner vetoed attempts to prohibit … Continue Reading
A U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia vacated the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) stay of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) revised EEO-1 form and the September 15, 2017, Federal Register Notice implementing the stay (Staying the Effectiveness of the EEO-1 Pay Data Collection, 82 Fed. Reg. 43362). Nat’l Women’s Law … Continue Reading
Because the judge who authored the ruling died before the decision was issued, the Ninth Circuit erred in counting him as a member of the majority, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Yovino v. Rizo, No. 18-272 (Feb. 25, 2019). On this technicality, the Supreme Court vacated the Ninth Circuit ruling that prior salary alone … Continue Reading
Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (SB 19-085), originally introduced on January 17, received its first hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 20, 2019. Hearings lasted for over four hours and included passionate testimony from members of the civil rights and business communities. After the dust had settled, the Committee adopted a … Continue Reading
The Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act (NJEPA) does not apply retroactively to conduct occurring before its effective date, July 1, 2018, a federal district court has ruled. Perrotto v. Morgan Advanced Materials, 2:18-cv-13825-WJM-MF (D. N.J. Jan. 14, 2019). The court granted the employer’s motion to dismiss. The NJEPA provides enhanced equal pay protections for New … Continue Reading
First introduced in Congress in 1997, and several times since, the Paycheck Fairness Act is again under consideration by Congress (S. 270/H.R. 7). If enacted, the bill would attempt to close the gender pay gap by: Implementing a wage history ban With limited exceptions, employers would be prohibited from requesting or relying on the wage … Continue Reading
Bipartisan bills introduced in both houses of the South Carolina General Assembly propose allowing workers and job applicants to bring suit against employers for pay inequality and wage secrecy. The Act to Establish Pay Equity, introduced as Senate Bill 372 along with its similar companion in the House, would expand employees’ and applicants’ rights regarding … Continue Reading
On January 17, 2019, Colorado Senate Democrats introduced the “Equal Pay for Equal Work Act” (SB 19-085) to prohibit a wage differential based on an employee’s sex. The bill also contains a salary history ban and pay transparency requirements. If passed, this would be among the most aggressive equal pay laws in the nation. Key … Continue Reading
One week after taking office, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a directive that prohibits state departments and agencies from asking about current or previous salaries until after extending a conditional offer of employment with proposed salary. Executive Directive No. 2019-10, intended to ensure equal pay for equal work among state employees, went into effect immediately … Continue Reading
A majority of the provisions of Oregon’s Equal Pay Act will go into effect on January 1, 2019. The Act’s ban on salary history inquiries went into effect in October 2017. Click here to read our full article regarding the Oregon Equal Pay Act final rule.… Continue Reading
Joining New York City, Albany County, and Westchester County, Suffolk County has become the latest jurisdiction in New York to pass a bill that prevents employers from inquiring into the salary and benefits history of job applicants. Designed to establish pay equality and to “break the cycle of wage discrimination,” the Restricting Information on Salaries … Continue Reading
A free service to help provide legal advice to female low-income earners on pay equity matters is now available in the United Kingdom. The Equal Pay Advice Service, or “EPAS,” went into operation on November 9, 2018, in time for the UK’s Equal Pay Day (the day in the year when women in the UK … Continue Reading
As previously reported here, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held in September that Equal Pay Act (EPA) plaintiffs must show not only that they are receiving less pay than similarly situated male colleagues, but that the pay differential is “historically or presently based on sex.” This holding … Continue Reading
Fair pay initiatives continue to sweep the globe. Canada is the latest to consider legislation. On October 29, 2018, the Government of Canada announced the introduction of an “Act to Establish a Proactive Pay Equity Regime within the Federal Public and Private Sectors (Pay Equity Act).” The Act would address a number of legislative findings … Continue Reading
The courts are making it increasingly difficult for employers to prevail on equal pay discrimination claims based on the “factor other than sex” affirmative defense. One recent example is the decision in EEOC v. Maryland Ins. Admin., 879 F.3d 114 (4th Cir. 2018), from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. There, the … Continue Reading
The Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Network recently evaluated the pay gap by gender in the commercial real estate industry and published a white paper entitled “Achieving Pay Parity in Commercial Real Estate” (Linked here). The white paper reports that the gender pay gap “persists and is strongest for [women] earning less than $100,000 and … Continue Reading
