Q: I AM a single mom and I have worked for this company for several years. Recently, while talking with another newly hired male co-worker whose responsibilities are similar to mine, I discovered he was making as much as 50 cents more per hour than I am. I asked my branch manager why the difference in pay. Instead of an answer, I was reprimanded for violating company policy because I was not supposed to discuss wages with other employees. Do I have any rights in this situation?
A: “Equal pay for equal work” advocates that workers doing the same work should receive the same compensation. The issue of equal pay is commonly found in the area of sex discrimination, where an employee is treated differently because of their sex or gender. Hence, the issue of “gender wage gap.”
California’s legislature states that in 2014, the gender wage gap in California stood at 16 cents on the dollar. This means a woman working full time year round earned an average of 84 cents to every dollar a man earned. This wage gap extends across almost all occupations in California. Collectively, women working full time in California lose more than $33 billion each year due to the gender wage gap. The wage gap has a significant impact on the economic security and welfare of millions of working women and their families.
Even though California has prohibited gender-based wage discrimination since 1949, with revisions to the laws since then, workers rarely use these laws because it was difficult for employees to establish a successful claim.
Pay secrecy also contributes to the gender wage gap. If employees cannot freely discuss their wages with one another, then they may not know that wage discrimination is an issue in the workplace. Many employees don’t know that employers are not allowed to ban wage disclosures. And even if they know their rights, they may still not exercise them due to fear of potential retaliation by the employer.
A newly-enacted law seeks to address these concerns. The law provides that an employer shall not pay any of its employees at wage rates less than the rates paid to employees of the opposite sex for substantially similar work, and performed under similar working conditions. “Substantially similar work” may mean the employees may have different titles or work at different sites but their work are essentially the same. In other words, the lower paid employee doesn’t have to prove that the higher paid employee of the opposite sex has exactly the same job as she (or he) does. If differences in wages exist, the difference must be legally justified based on one or more of the following factors:
a) A seniority system
b) A merit system
c) A system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of production
d) A bona fide factor other than sex, such as education, training, or experience.
An employee who successfully proves her claims may be entitled to the balance of the wages, including interest thereon, and an equal amount as liquidated damages, together with the costs of the suit and reasonable attorney’s fees, even if the employee has agreed to work for a lesser wage.
Finally, an employer shall not prohibit an employee from disclosing the employee’s own wages, discussing the wages of others, inquiring about another employee’s wages, or aiding or encouraging any other employee to exercise his or her rights under the law. An employee who has been discharged, discriminated or retaliated against, for doing any of the foregoing will be entitled to damages as well as appropriate equitable relief.
***
The Law Offices of C. Joe Sayas, Jr. welcomes inquiries about this topic. All inquiries are confidential and at no-cost. Atty. Sayas’ Law Office is located at 500 N. Brand Blvd. Suite 980, Glendale, CA 91203. You can contact the office at (818) 291-0088 or visit www.joesayaslaw.com.
***
C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. is trial attorney who has obtained several million dollar recoveries for his clients against employers and insurance companies. He has been selected as a Super Lawyer by the Los Angeles Magazine, featured in the cover of Los Angeles Daily Journal’s Verdicts and Settlements, and is a member of the Million Dollar-Advocates Forum.
