Q: Is this an example of Pay Discrimination?
I've been employed at my current job for almost 2 years. Over the course of time, my department has been ran by 2 people. As of March2024, I was the sole person left in my department. My job also provided me a merit increase, but it wasn't the full increase that they guaranteed me. It took almost a month for my job to actively hire a new person to fill my previous co-worker's position. The new hire started in mid April2024. I had no visibility or input during the entire hiring process of the new hire. Fast forward to early June 2024, and casually during conversation he mentioned that he was getting paid more than me. When we both agreed that I'm the only senior employee in our department. He admitted to having less GMP experience than myself ( he only has 2 years , I have 4+). He is also a male and I'm a minority female. Is this an example of pay discrimination?
A:
You may have claims under federal and state law. The Equal Pay Act, a federal law, prohibits wage discrimination on the basis of sex. An employee must show: (1) the employer pays different wages to employees of a different sex at the same establishment and (2) the employees perform substantially equal work (3) under substantially equal working conditions. Title VII, another federal law, also makes it illegal to discriminate based on sex in pay and benefits. If you have an Equal Pay Act claim you may also have a claim under Title VII. Title VII prohibits discrimination in compensation and other terms and conditions of employment, so it is broader than the EPA. Title VII also prohibits discrimination in compensation or other aspects of employment based on race, color, religion, or national origin.
There are comparable statutes under state law as well, including the PA Equal Pay Law, and the Pa Human Relations Act.
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