KemLaw

One of the greatest challenges of owning or running a business is managing a workforce. Doing it well requires skill as well as a good understanding of federal and state employment laws.

One area of employment law that’s gotten a lot of attention on the campaign trail, in Congress and in the news in the last few years is pay equity.

In 1963, Congress passed a law called the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and amended the Fair Labor Standards Act, aimed at abolishing wage disparity based on sex. Here is what that act called for:

The Equal Pay Act (“EPA”)

1. Applies to employers of any size.
2. Prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of sex by paying persons of one sex less than persons of the opposite sex for equal work on jobs requiring equal skill, effort and responsibility and which are performed under similar working conditions.
3. The EPA is not violated if wage differentials are based on factors other than sex, such as seniority, merit pay or differences in ability, skill, experience, education, or prior training.
4. Damages include back pay for two years (or three years if there is a willful violation of the law); liquidated damages (e.g., two times back pay); attorney’s fees and costs.

As an employer, how might you guard against problems is this area of the law?

One thing to consider is a “self audit” – or review of your company policies. Here are ten possible steps to such an audit:

1. Conduct a recruitment self-audit
2. Evaluate your compensation system for internal equity
3. Evaluate your compensation system for industry competitiveness
4. Conduct a new job evaluation system if needed
5. Examine your compensation system and compare job grades or scores
6. Review data for personnel entering your company
7. Assess opportunity for employees to secure commissions and bonuses
8. Assess how raises are awarded
9. Evaluate employee training, development and promotion opportunities
10. Implement changes where needed and maintain equity.

If you are an employer and would like to read more about employment laws and how they might affect your business – see more here: http://info.kemlaw.com/ct-employment-laws-overview/

Managing a workforce is a challenge in every sense of the word. The attorneys at Kainen, Escalera & McHale each have over 20 years of experience in these and other employment law matters and would be pleased to help you if you have questions regarding the law. Please contact us if we can help.

The information provided above is made available by Kainen, Escalera & McHale, P.C. for educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide specific legal advice to your individual circumstances or legal questions. You acknowledge that neither your reading of, nor posting on, this site establishes an attorney-client relationship between you and our law firm, or any of the attorneys in our firm. This information should not be used as a substitute for seeking competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state nor is it provided for the specific purpose of soliciting your business on any particular matter. Readers of this information should not act upon anything communicated in it without seeking professional counsel.