It is becoming common knowledge that there is a wide pay gap between women and men, as well as between different races in the United States. Although there exists a law called the Equal Pay Act, which seeks to protect all workers in the United States from pay discrimination, the pay gap still seems to prevail.
As an employee, it is important that you understand your rights to equal pay, and know what causes of action you can take if you believe that you are being discriminated against in regard to the amount of compensation you receive.
What requirements are outlined in the Equal Pay Act?
The foundation of the Equal Pay Act is the requirement that all employees are paid equally for the same work in a company. This means that if there are two employees that are equally qualified for the job, have the same amount of experience and produce the same amount of work at an equal quality, they should be paid an equal amount.
If you learn that a coworker is being paid significantly more than you even though you are both equally qualified, work the same hours and produce the same amount of work, you may be able to file a claim against your employer. However, it is important to recognize that it can be difficult to justify that the individual skills and competencies of two different workers can be compared.
It is important that you stand up for your rights to equal pay as a worker in California. Make sure that you do your research in terms of how your salary compares to coworkers in your company.
Source: FindLaw, “Equal Pay and Compensation Discrimination: Facts,” accessed May 10, 2018