While we would like to be in a country where gender discrimination does not occur anymore in the workplace, it unfortunately still happens in countless industries. Luckily, Federal and Arizona laws are in place to protect employees from the unlawful actions of their employers. Congress enacted the Equal Pay Act in 1963, which is a part of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, and prohibits employers from paying workers of one sex a different wage from workers of the opposite sex that are doing equal work. The EPA also covers sex discrimination in the form of benefits. For example, bonuses, overtime pay, stock options, profit sharing, vacation time, life insurance, holiday pay, and travel expenses.
The Equal Pay Act classifies equal work as tasks that require equal skill, effort, responsibility, and that are performed under similar working conditions in the same business. The jobs being compared to not have to be identical, but substantially equal in regards to the specific duties and requirements of employees. Job titles are impertinent when courts are determining the degree of similarity in jobs. Instead, it is the job content that is important. However, if the unequal pay is a result of one of the permitted exceptions to the equal pay requirements, there is no violation. The exceptions are: wages were paid pursuant to a seniority system; a merit system; a system that measures pay by the quantity or quality of the goods produced by the employee; or that the unequal pay was based on a factor other than sex. Factors other than sex can include: employee experience, educational background, ability, or prior job performance. Employers must provide clear evidence that shows legitimate reasons that explain the wage disparity. In 2018, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that an employer cannot justify a pay difference between female and male employees performing equal work based on prior salary. The court stated that salary is not a measure of work experience. This was a pivotal ruling for Arizona employees since their employers can no longer justify wage differentials between men and women on salary history, but instead must explain reasons for wage differences in regards to their abilities.
How Do I File a Claim?
Now, if you think you have been a victim of discrimination in regards to violations of the EPA, you can contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the Arizona Civil Rights Division to file a charge to obtain the unpaid wages you are owed. Unpaid wages may include: lack of compensation for hours worked, vacation pay, severance pay, bonus pay, paid time off, mileage, and unauthorized deductions. The administration and enforcement of the EPA is carried out by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). A charge can be filed by the employee with the EEOC, then if the EEOC finds merit to the charge, they can either file a lawsuit or notify the charging party of his or her right to file a lawsuit directly with the court themselves. A lawsuit cannot be filed by both the employee as an individual and through the EEOC, if it is filed by the EEOC, it supersedes a lawsuit filed by an employee. The employee filing a Wage Claim must file the claim before the two-year statute of limitations expires or before three years when the violation is “willful.” Additionally, if the amount claimed does not exceed $5,000, the employee can file a Wage Claim form with the Industrial Commission of Arizona within one year of the violation.
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