Equal Pay/Equal Compensation Discrimination At Work

Authored By: Lagniappe Law Lab
Read this in: Spanish / Español

About

What is equal compensation discrimination or equal pay discrimination?

The right of employees to be free from discrimination in their compensation or pay is protected under several laws, including the following enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Differences in pay that occur because of sex violate the EPA and/or Title VII, as amended. In addition, compensation differences based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, and/or retaliation also violate laws enforced by EEOC.

The law against compensation discrimination or equal pay includes all payments made to or on behalf employees as renumeration for employment. 

Retaliation

  • It is unlawful to retaliate against an individual for opposing employment practices that discriminate based on compensation or for filing a discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or litigation under Title VII, ADEA, ADA, GINA, EPA, and/or PDA

Harassment

  • It is unlawful to harass a person based on Equal Pay/ Equal Compensation. 

  • Harassment can include, for example, offensive or derogatory remarks. Although the law doesn't prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that aren't very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted).

  • The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer.

Equal Pay Act

About the Equal Pay Act

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) requires employers to pay male and female employees at the same establishment equal wages "for equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions."

  • The jobs that are compared need be only substantially equal, not identical.

  • Unequal compensation can be justified only if the employer shows that the pay differential is attributable to a bona fide seniority, merit, or incentive system, or any other factor other than sex.

  • A claim on unequal compensation based on sex can be brought either under the EPA or Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), as long as the jurisdictional prerequisites are met.

  • Pay differentials are permitted when they are based on seniority, merit, quantity or quality of production, or a factor other than sex. These are known as "affirmative defenses" and it is the employer's burden to prove that they apply.

  • In correcting a pay differential, no employee's pay may be reduced. Instead, the pay of the lower paid employee(s) must be increased.

  • An individual alleging a violation of the EPA may go directly to court and is not required to file an EEOC charge beforehand.

    • Within 2 years in the case of a willful violation of an unlawful compensation practice

    • Within 3 years in the case of a willful violation of an unlawful compensation practice

Equal Pay Factors

  • Measured by factors such as the experience, ability, education, and training required to perform the job.
  • The issue is what skills are required for the job, not what skills the individual employees may have.
  • The amount of physical or mental exertion needed to perform the job.
  • The degree of accountability required in performing the job.
  • This encompasses two factors: (1) physical surroundings like temperature, fumes, and ventilation; and (2) hazards.
  • The prohibition against compensation discrimination under the EPA applies only to jobs within an establishment.

  • An establishment is a distinct physical place of business rather than an entire business or enterprise consisting of several places of business.

  • In some circumstances, physically separate places of business may be treated as one establishment.

Title VII, ADEA, & ADA

About Title VII, the ADEA, and the ADA

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII)Titles I and V of the Americans with Disabilities of 1990 (ADA), The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), prohibit compensation discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability or protected activity. 

  • A claim of compensation discrimination can be brought under one of these statutes even if no person outside the protected class holds a "substantially equal" higher paying job. 

Title VII, the ADEA, and the ADA further prohibit discriminatory practices that indirectly affect compensation - such as limiting groups protected by these statutes to lower paying jobs. These practices are not covered by the EPA. 

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009

The The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 (“Act”) overturned the Supreme Court's decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Inc., 550 U.S. 618 (2007), which severely restricted the time period for filing complaints of employment discrimination concerning compensation.

The "Act" amended Title VII, ADAADEA. Under the The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, each paycheck affected by an employer’s prior discriminatory act triggers a new deadline for filing an equal pay/equal compensation claim. An employee should be able to show that the paycheck or other compensation was affected by a past discriminatory act. 

  • All forms of compensation are covered, including salary, overtime pay, bonuses, stock options, profit sharing and bonus plans, life insurance, vacation and holiday pay, cleaning and gasoline allowances, hotel accommodations, reimbursement for travel expenses and benefits. 

Employment Compensation by Law

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title II) prohibits compensation discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability.

  • Title VII applies to employers with 15 or more full or part time employees.
  • 180 days to file a charge under Title VII since the incident of discrimination occurred.
  • 15 or more employees who have worked for the employer for at least twenty calendar weeks (in this year or last).

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prohibits employment discrimination against an individual with respect to his compensation terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of such individuals age.

  • ADEA applies to employers with 15 or more full or part time employees.
  • 180 days to file a charge under ADEA since the incident of discrimination occurred.
  • 15 or more employees who have worked for the employer for at least twenty calendar weeks (in this year or last).

Titles I and V of the Americans with Disabilities of 1990 (ADA) prohibits compensation discrimination on the basis of disability. 

  • ADA applies to employers with 15 or more full or part time employees.
  • 180 days to file a charge under ADA since the incident of discrimination occurred.

State Law

Louisiana State Law and Equal Pay/Equal Compensation Employment Discrimination

Louisiana Law, LA Rev Stat 23:332 prohibits intentional employment discrimination. 

  • Title 23 Labor and Workers Compensation - RS 23:332 Intentional Discrimination in Employment 

  • Sex-based discrimination may include an equal pay/equal compensation claim which prohibit employers from paying employees differently based on sex. 

  • Louisiana does not have what is commonly known as an “Equal Pay Act,” a law specifically requiring that men and women be paid equally for equal work but under RS 23:332 Intentional Discrimination in Employment:

    • “An employer to apply different standards of compensation or different terms, conditions, or privileges of employment pursuant to a bona fide seniority or merit system, or a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production, or any other differential based on any factor other than sex, or to employees who work in different locations, provided that such differences are not the result of an intention to discriminate because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” 

Retaliation claims for other types of discrimination complaints are not covered under the Louisiana Employment Discrimination Law. Under La. Rev. Stat. § 23:967 General Whistleblower Protection Law an employee may not be discharged (or discriminated against) in retaliation for performing, in good faith, the following activities:

  1. Disclosing (or threatening to disclose) a workplace act or practice that violates state law;

  2. Providing information or testimony in a public investigation, hearing, or inquiry into any violation of the law;

  3. Refusing to participate in (or objecting to) an illegal employment act;

  4. To be protected under this statute, the employee must first inform the employer of the violation. An employee is not protected if he goes directly to a governmental agency without first advising the employer. Also, an employee must be certain that the illegal conduct actually happened; a reasonable, good faith belief will not protect an employee if no violation actually occurred. 

The general rule is that most employees may be fired at any time-for any reason or for no reason at all-under what is known as the at-will employment doctrine. However, there are exceptions to the general rule; the Louisiana whistleblower protection statute. Employees who engage in protected activities (usually filing a complaint or testifying) under laws in the following subject areas are protected from retaliation: health care employees, insurer employees, labor investigations & proceedings, and workers' compensation.

In addition to the above state protections, federal law provides workers with additional protections. Furthermore, a private contract or collective bargaining agreement may also protect employees from certain forms of retaliation.

How to File a Charge

To File a Charge

All of the laws enforced, except the The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) require you to file a charge of discrimination with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or Louisiana Commission on Human Rights (LCHR) before you can file a discrimination lawsuit against your employer. in state court An individual alleging a violation of the EPA may go directly to state court and is not required to file an EEOC or LCHR charge beforehand. 

Laws like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII)The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and Titles I and V of the Americans with Disabilities of 1990 (ADA) require you to file a charge of discrimination with EEOC or LCHR the before you can file a discrimination lawsuit against your employer. 

  1. To File a Claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC):

    1. Within 180 days of the alleged unlawful compensation practice under Title VII, ADA and ADEA

    2. Under the EPA you have 2 years of the alleged unlawful compensation practice to go directly to court or to the EEOC or LCHR. An individual alleging a violation of the EPA may go directly to court and is not required to file anEEOC or LCHR charge beforehand. The filing of an EEOC or LCHR charge under the EPA does not extend the time frame for going to court.

    3. Virtually all employers are covered if you file a claim under EPA.

    4. 15 or more employees who have worked for the employer for at least twenty calendar weeks (in this year or last) under Title VII, ADA and ADEA

  2. To File with the Louisiana Commission on Human Rights (LCHR):

    • Within 180 days of the alleged unlawful compensation practice

    • 20 or more employees who have worked for the employer for at least twenty calendar weeks (in this year or last).

  3. To File in a State Court under Louisiana State Law:

    • You may file a claim under state law without having first gone to either the LCHR or EEOC. Generally, you have 1-year since the discriminatory treatment to file a lawsuit. If you file your discrimination claim with the LCHR or EEOC within 300 days of the discriminatory treatment, then you have an additional 6-month extension from the 1-year period to file your claim in Louisiana state court (meaning you have 18 total months).

    • Under the EPA, you can file with the court within 2 years of the alleged unlawful compensation practice. Under the EPA, if the case is a willful violation, you can file within 3 years of the alleged unlawful compensation practice. 

    • 20 or more employees who have worked for the employer for at least twenty calendar weeks (in this year or last).

    • A case filed in state court using federal law may be “removed” to federal court by the employer because it involves a federal statute such as Title VII, GINA, EPAADEA, and ADA or because the employer is based in another state.

  4. To File a Discrimination Claim in Federal Court:

    • To preserve your claim under federal law, you must cross-file with the EEOC or LCHR within 300 days of the date you believe you were discriminated against.

    • A federal employment discrimination case cannot be filed in court without first going to the EEOC or LCHR, as discussed above, and having the EEOC or LCHR dismiss your claim.

    • This process is called “exhaustion” of your administrative remedy. The EEOC or LCHR must first issue the document known as “Dismissal and Notice of Rights” or “Notice of Right to Sue” (Form 161) before you can file a case based upon your federal claim.

    • A lawsuit based on your federal discrimination claim must be filed in federal or state court within 90 days of the date you receive the notice. Be sure to mark down that date when you receive the notice.

    • A lawsuit based on your federal discrimination claim must be filed in federal or state court within 90 days of the date you receive the notice. Be sure to mark down that date when you receive the notice.

Last Review and Update: Sep 20, 2022
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