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Equal Pay Attorney Los Angeles

 

Women are indeed almost half of the workforce. They are the sole or co-breadwinner in half of American families that have children. They receive more college and graduate degrees than men. Yet, on the average, women continue to earn considerably less than men. Just in 2018 alone, female full-time, year-round workers had made only 82 cents for every dollar earned by men, a gender wage gap of 18 percent. The numbers are even worse towards minority of women.

 

Equal Opportunity Lawyers on Your Side

 

Men and women in the same workplace are required by the Equal Pay Act to obtain equal compensation for equal work. At the same side of the token, people cannot be given lower pay due to their race, age or disability status. Although the jobs in question do not have to be identical, they need to be considered substantially equal and fair. This is can be determined by the content or tasks involved in doing the jobs. Primarily, the law covers all types of payment, including salaries, vacation including holiday pay, overtime, stock options and bonuses life insurance, profit sharing, gasoline allowances and reimbursements for hotel and travel expenses. If pay of inequality is determined, the employer is not allowed to reduce the compensation of the more highly-paid party to remedy the situation. Contact our Equal Opportunity Lawyer in Los Angeles today at (424) 256-9055.

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Equal Pay Act Lawyer Los Angeles

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Gender discrimination is never acceptable at the workplace. Unfortunately, it happens far too often throughout Southern California. For many years, women have been paid less for performing the same job as their male counterparts. Congress passed the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to eliminate these unethical business practices. Yet, the same discriminatory practices continue at many businesses, companies and corporations to this day. Contact our Equal Pay Act Lawyer in Los Angeles today at (424) 256-9055.

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What are the Wage Equality Laws?

 

According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal Equal Pay Act requires employers to pay men and women equal pay for equal work. Equal work does not necessarily mean identical jobs. 

 

Therefore, employers failing to pay two workers of opposite sexes equally for similar duties are violating the Equal Pay Act (EPA) of 1963. Citing an outmoded belief that men are breadwinners and hence should be paid more, Congress helped enact the EPA as an offshoot of the FLSA, or Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Prima facie cases establishing pay inequality need only a comprehensive review of job duties performed by two people, review of employment records and an aggrieved party.

California also has its own state laws that protect employees from wage discrimination. These include the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and the California Equal Pay Act (EPA) under Cal. Lab. Code § 1197.5. The EPA specifies a number of ways to compare the content of one job to another to determine wage inequality.

 

Here are some examples:

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• Skill. The EPA determines the skill of the job based on factors such as the position’s required experience, ability, education and training. The skills required for the job, not the skills possessed by the individual employees, determine the comparative skill level of a position.

• Effort. This is a measure of the physical or mental exertion required by the position. Jobs do not need to be alike to require similar effort levels.

• Responsibility. This measures the amount of accountability associated with the position. For example, a position that requires an individual to manage the company’s budget requires more responsibility than turning out the lights at the end of the day.

• Working Conditions. The work environment determines the conditions of the job. This is comprised of two factors: components of physical surroundings, such as temperature, ventilation etc. and any hazards in the workplace.

• Establishment. A wage inequality case is only valid for jobs within a single physical location, rather than inequality between separate locations of one business. In some cases, separate locations may be treated as a single establishment.

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If two jobs are comparable in the criteria listed above, then the Equal Pay Act counts them as equal work. If two individuals perform equal work, then it is illegal for one to receive less pay than the other. Payment includes all forms of compensation, such as salary, overtime pay, bonuses, stock options, profit sharing and other benefits.

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HOW EMPLOYERS JUSTIFY EQUAL PAY ACT VIOLATIONS

 

Many employers use a variety of excuses and unethical practices to justify paying female employees a lesser salary. But if you are making less money than a male co-worker for performing the same work, your employer is obligated to show their justification for paying you less. Unfortunately, these unethical business practices do not just happen to women. It also happens to seniors and many other groups. Under the Equal Pay Act, employers can justify paying a female worker less if it is based on a legitimate seniority, incentive or merit system. Both the employer and worker must be aware of the system. The system must be executed on good faith and include the following conditions:

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• All employees must be aware of the conditions

• The incentive, merit and seniority system must be consistently and evenly applied to all employees

• It must be adopted without the intent of discrimination between male and female employees

• The agreement must be based on predetermined criteria that measures productivity, seniority and merit.

• It must be the only reason for salary differences between male and female employees

 

PROTECTING WORKERS RIGHTS FROM ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION 

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Every employer should be aware of the Equal Pay Act. However, many workers who are the victims of discrimination feel powerless and never take action. By failing to take action, you will never receive the compensation you rightfully deserve. Even worse, the same discriminatory practices will escalate. The best decision is to seek immediate action from an experienced and knowledgeable Los Angeles Equal Pay Act violation attorney with a track record of protecting the rights of employees and always looking after their best interests. Our experienced Los Angeles Equal Pay Act attorney will fight for you. Call for a free consultation to connect with an experienced Equal Pay Attorney in Los Angeles at (424) 256-9055.