It is an unfortunate fact of the times we live in that two people may often be performing the same job but one might be receiving more compensation for it. Whether this wage discrimination results from discrimination against gender, age or race, it is prohibited by federal law and Minnesota residents should know that employees have the right to be free from discrimination in their compensation. All types of compensation are covered by the federal law prohibiting discrimination, including overtime pay, bonuses, salary and profit sharing.
The Equal Pay Act requires that where men and women are working equally in the same establishment, they be given equal pay. It is the job content, not the job title, that will determine the value of compensation, therefore the jobs being performed do not need to be the same, but do need to be substantially similar. Where the jobs require the same skill, measured by experience, education and training, the same effort, measured by amount of physical or mental exertion required to complete the job, the same responsibility, measured by the degree of accountability of completing the job and under similar working conditions in the same establishment, men and women should be paid the same amount of compensation.
Federal law also prohibits wage disparity on the basis of race, religion, age and disability. Under Title VII, the ADEA and the ADA, there is no requirement that the jobs be substantially similar. For example, a disabled employee could show they are receiving lesser pay than a similarly situated employee without a disability without the employer providing a satisfactory explanation as to why.
It might seem complicated, trying to understand whether a person’s work is similar or different from a younger employee or a male employee. However, if wage discrimination is taking place in a person’s workplace, the affected employees should know they have rights against employment discrimination.
