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Equal Pay Act- Would "more experience" hold up as a defense for paying the males more than the female?
Anonymous5 views2 answers
Situation:
-10 employees
-9 Males and 1 Female
-The company has a pay-scale where they start employees at a certain amount based on experience.
-The 9 males have anywhere from 3 years and more experience in the particular field while the female only has a little bit over a year experience in the field. So the males starts at a higher rate than the female according to the employer starting pay.
-All of the 10 employees have the same job title and responsibilities/ duties.
-The female is given the most hardest and difficult task while the 9 males are rarely required to perform such task and are in-fact given the easier task/duties to do.
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If this female raised questions under the equal pay act; could/would the "more experience" hold up for paying the male workers more?
An attorney can give you a legal opinion as to what constitutes best practices, but there are no guarantees because even the justices of the US Supreme Court routinely disagree on questions like this.
dear asker,
You're asking for a definite answer on an indefinite equation. Simply "more experience," may or may not be sufficient defense, but it depends upon the facts with regard to the complaint and a myriad of other factors, such as:
1. How is experience counted;
2. Is there an educational substitute for experience;
3. Has the "experience" factor been used as a pretext to pay differently specifically based on gender;
4. Are there any other factors used in the calculation?
5. If so, is there a mathematical system used to calculate starting salaries; or
6. If there isn't a mathematical calculation, was negotiation of salaries part of the hiring process.
Merely paying employees different salaries for the same job title and responsibilities is fine. This allows businesses to hire for a rate that reduces their overhead.
The differential treatment statement tells me that you are the female worker and that you think that you are given the hardest assignments for the least pay. I don't think you're going to get a useful answer on a free board. If you think there is an EEOC violation based on your gender, then you should sit down for a consultation with an employment law attorney. These are typically free. Just remember the following:
1. These cases can take a long time to process
2. The more proof that you can offer of the disparate treatment SPECIFICALLY because of your gender, the stronger the case. Merely feeling that you do "all of the hard work" doesn't give you a legal leg to stand on, you're going to need to have proof linking it to your gender. This is an issue to discuss during the consultation.
3. If this is a union job, then there may be additional issues with the calculation of pay based upon seniority,
4. You need to understand that newer hires typically get the shaft on work assignments, so if any of the men (I despise the use of the terms male/female in this context...it is a personal preference) have seniority over the woman/women, then their getting the crappy work assignments might merely be a seniority issue, rather than a gender issue. This happens all the time in all-male, and all-female jobs.
5. If the case is found to lack merit after going to court over it, your work environment could be a lot worse.
Search your conscience before pursuing a claim that you're being discriminated against based on gender. Is it that you feel undervalued, or is it genuine discrimination? There is a difference.
Definitely consult an employment attorney, and bring your employee handbook and be prepared to give specific information about your job responsibilities and duties.
best of luck.
