California Equal Pay Act: Achieving Pay Equity in the Workplace
The equal pay act or EPA was enacted to eradicate discrimination against employees while getting their paychecks. This law ensures equal remuneration for all employees regardless of their sex, race, and ethnicity for substantially similar work. Surely, you can make the best use of this law to achieve pay equity in your workplace. Follow the discussion below on California’s equal pay law to know more about this issue.
Provisions of the equal pay act
California’s Fair Pay Act has made a solid ground for securing pay equity for state employees. California’s equal pay law states that:
- Employees performing substantially similar work are entitled to get equal pay regardless of the situation
- There will be no more requirements for employees to be compared to work at the “same establishment.”
- The employers can not give excuses based on a “bona fide factor other than sex” defense
- The employers can not prohibit the employees to discuss their co-worker’s wages
- Your employer can not retaliate against you when you demand equal pay in the workplace
How can my employer defend the equal pay act?
Your employer can justify the unequal pay rate of the employees if it is based on factors like:
- Seniority
- Merit
- A system that measures production
- Bona fide factors except sex, race, and ethnicity.
If you get unequal payment due to these factors, your employer will not be liable for any violation of laws.
What does substantially similar work mean?
Substantially similar work includes work with similar skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions. Here, effort means the physical and mental endeavor needed to perform the job. Skill means experience, ability, education, and training needed to do the job. And then, responsibility for substantially similar work will be in the same degree of duties. Finally, the working condition will cover the surroundings and workplace hazards.
How can I claim an equal pay act?
You can make a formal complaint to the Labor Commissioner’s office if you do not get equal pay compared to your co-workers. If your complaint gets accepted, they will conduct further investigation and seek legal remedies on your behalf. You can recover lost wages, interest, and liquidated damages from this complaint. You will have two years to file an Equal Pay Act claim from the date of violation. In case the violation is willful, you will have to file the claim within three years.
Final Words
Hopefully, this article on California’s equal pay law will help you acknowledge your rights. You can exercise the laws to protect yourself in the workplace. If you feel that you are getting paid unequally, you should make practical use of these employee rights. You should immediately talk to an employment attorney and discuss your issue. The attorney will guide you to stand up for your rights and seek legal remedies with the best approach. Follow the procedure mentioned above for that.
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