Posted on April 10, 2013 by Richard B. Cohen

"Gender Wage Gap" Will Not Close Until 2057

This astounding figure was just reported by The Institute for Women's Policy Research using 2011 government census data.  

Other organizations have similarly reported on the gender wage gap -- the difference in pay between men and women.  The National Women's Law Center has just published a fact sheet entitled "Closing The Wage Gap Crucial For Women Of Color And Their Familes." 

Additionally, click here to link to the map compiled and published by the "National Partnership for Women & Families," which shows the gender wage gap in all 50 states and in the top 50 metropolitan areas. Seattle had the widest pay gap, followed by Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Detroit.  Los Angeles had the narrowest gender wage gap, followed by Las Vegas, Miami, and San Antonio. 

 

Check out the map to see how your city and state are doing! 

 

 

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Posted on March 14, 2012 by Christina Stoneburner

Equal Pay Act Claim Sent to a Jury Trial Because Employer Did Not Prove that Factors Other Than Sex Accounted for Pay Differentials

Just days after we posted that the gender pay gap has narrowed, the Seventh Circuit issued a decision in King v. Acosta Sales & Mktg. Inc. reversing a previous grant of summary judgment and ordering Ms. King's Equal Pay Act claims to trial.

 

The Court noted that, although Acosta had alleged that the difference in pay was explained by different educational backgrounds and experience, Acosta had not proved that to be the case.  The key is to remember that under the Equal Pay Act, the "factors other than sex" defense is an affirmative defense, which has to be proved not merely articulated by the employer to win summary judgment and/or a jury verdict.

 

For now, it looks like they will be slugging it out in court.

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Posted on March 12, 2012 by Christina Stoneburner

The Gender Pay Gap Has Narrowed: Will this Mean Employers Will See Less Equal Pay Act Claims?

The answer to the above is, like most lawyerly answers, not necessarily.  (Not necessarily is a variant on the other popular lawyer answer -- it depends).

 

The Institute for Women's Policy Research recently issued a fact sheet that concludes that the gender gap between women and men is at an all-time low of 82.2 percent. 

This should be good news for employers.  However, the statistics do not really show that women's pay has increased to the level of men's pay.  Rather, men's pay has decreased, likely a result of the depressed economy and not an attempt to equalize pay. 

 

As we have previously posted (2/23 and 10/11), the EEOC and the OFCCP have been increasingly going after what they term "systemic discrimination" cases.  Those cases usually involve mind-numbing statistics that make juries remember why they hated math classes.

 

Employers should consider being proactive and conducting a study of their pay practices.  Of course a study is only valuable if the employer plans to take action based on the results. 

 

Employers should be aware that such studies may be discoverable in later litigation if they are conducted internally.  Instead, it may be better to seek legal advice as to whether the pay practices pass muster, which would be protected by the attorney-client privilege.

 

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