September 08, 2017
What is Pay Equity?
Pay equity is the term that is used for the movement that is trying to eliminate gender and race from the pay scale to ensure everyone gets paid equally for doing the same job regardless of what minorities or majorities they belong to. Many people believe that minorities such as women are segregated into a small sect of jobs such as teachers, nurses, or service workers. These jobs have largely always been viewed as "inferior" and are generally lower-paying jobs because of the negative view many people have on these types of work. Many of these industries are underpaying workers even in today's job market.
What States Recognize Pay Equity Laws?
Almost all states have recognized a bill that requires pay equality to be prevalent among all workers within a company holding the same position. A few states require a company to have between 2 and 15 or more workers (depending on the state) for these laws to apply. The only states that have not recognized pay equity laws for everyone are Louisiana and Texas which only require pay equity for state workers and Minnesota as well as Oklahoma which requires pay equity only for private employers.
Almost all states that have pay equity laws also state within that law that no worker may be discriminated against for any reason if they can do the job that they are hired for. Even Louisiana, Texas, Minnesota, and Oklahoma, which only require public or private businesses to have pay equity have laws in place for every company to hire without discriminatory practices.
All businesses in these states must also offer the same payment methods to all employees. These laws are also providing cause for the employee to sue if they feel discriminated against in many states.
Which States Are Looking Into Pay Equity?
Some states such as California & New York are passed new laws this past January that will fundamentally change how pay equity claims are processed within the state. Recent amendments have been made to the equity payment laws in Nebraska as of March and similar laws landed on Chris Christie's desk in New Jersey. New amendments to the pay equity laws in Massachusetts have already been signed and are slated to go into effect as soon as July of 2018.
This equal pay trend is something that is now sweeping across the entire US. Laws are also pending that may require more information to be released by employers to prove that they are providing pay equity to all employees within their company for performing similar work. Many employers are currently reviewing their practices as these new laws are coming into place in many states to ensure that they are in compliance with restrictions tighten up on these pay equity laws across the US.
The US's Most Aggressive Pay Equity Law Yet:
The most aggressive pay equity law yet has been signed into effect in Los Angeles, California as of last October. The biggest thing that is new about this law is the reach of it. The new "California Fair Pay Act" is, as the Los Angeles Times dubbed it "the most aggressive attempt yet to close the salary gap between men and women". This law is only interested in pay discrimination between men and women. This law makes restrictions tighter on the already-stringent differences between men and women's pay equity discrimination that are in place at the federal level as the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits employers from differentiating pay between men and women doing the same jobs.
This new law also requires payment records for employees to be kept for two to three years into the future to prove pay equity between men and women! Alternatively, if anyone feels discriminated against they can now file complaints with the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement which allows them to allege unfair pay by their employers based on the basis of gender.
The Future of Pay Equity:
Pay equity laws are becoming more and more prevalent across the US as the fight for equal pay comes to the forefront of the US work place. Many laws have been passed in many states to require equal pay as well as at the federal level, and there are many more to come. The fight will likely not end any time soon until everyone is paid fairly for the work they do.