Rochester Employment Lawyer Helping To Enforce Equal Pay for Equal Work
In life, everybody deserves equality. This means that each gender should have the same rights and luxuries than the other. Unfortunately, this is not often depicted in reality. Because of gender discrimination, males and females are often paid different wages. Men are compensated higher than females for completing work that is often identical. However, this is against the law after the introduction of the Equal Pay Act, otherwise known as the EPA. Understanding the EPA is important, especially if you think you’re being compensated unequally.
What is the Equal Pay Act?
The Equal Pay Act, abbreviated as the EPA, is an act that was passed in 1963 as an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act. More specifically, the EPA requires employers to pay both men and women the same amount of money for doing the same amount of work. It’s important to note that this protects both men and women from unequal pay, but it’s more common to see a case where a woman is getting paid less than a man would. The Equal Pay Act helps stabilize the earnings made between genders.
Who is Covered?
Often times, people think that the Equal Pay Act only covers women. This is untrue, as the EPA covers virtually all workers. Because it regulates state, local, federal, and private companies, the Equal Pay Act applies to everyone regardless of gender and stature.
Making A Claim
If you think that you’re being wrongfully discriminated against and earning lower wages than the opposite gender, there are steps you can take. The first step is filing a claim under the Equal Pay Act. To successfully file a claim, there are some conditions that you must prove. First, you must show that you’re working in the same place as an opposite sex employee.
Next, you must show that you and this opposite sex employee are completing equal work. Finally, you must prove you’re receiving unequal pay compared to the other individual. It is important to note that if an employer can justify and show that the wage disparity has a legitimate reason, such as seniority or experience level, the claim is defeated.
Determining Equal Work
One of the biggest conflicts that arises when filing a claim under the Equal Pay Act is in determining whether you and someone of the opposite gender are truly completing equal work. Keep note that two jobs do not have to be exactly identical for a court to consider them equal. It also doesn’t matter what your job title is compared to the other individual if you’re actively completing identical tasks. Typically, courts determine equal work as positions that require equal levels of skill, effort, and responsibility. They must also be performed under similar conditions.
What is Considered Equal Pay?
The EPA requires that employers pay their identical workers the same rate, but this doesn’t mean that each person will actively receive the same sum of compensation. That’s because productivity and sales are taken into account. Equal pay, however, does include being entitled to the same benefits including insurance, retirement plans, and savings accounts.
Get Equal Pay Today
If you believe you are being paid unequally to the opposite sex, but completing identical types of work, you may be able to file a claim under the Equal Pay Act. This can be a confusing process, so The Cimino Law Firm can help you out.
We offer confidential consultations to all of our clients where we’ll discuss how we can best suit your needs. Instead of letting people completing equal forms of work get paid higher wages than you, let us help you file a claim today.
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