1. 2018 Employment Law Forum
Pay Equity Panel

2. Panelists
Moderator:
Genie Harrison, Esq., Principal, Genie Harrison Law Firm, APC
Panelists:
Phyllis W. Cheng, Esq., Mediator & Arbitrator, ADR Services, Inc.
Michelle Lee Flores, Esq., Partner, Akerman LLP
Chen Song, Ph.D., CFA, Senior Vice President, Nathan Associates, Inc.
Twila S. White, Esq., Law Office of Twila S. White

3. overview The wage gap Development of fair pay laws Federal law
California law
California Fair Pay Act
Challenges in implementation
Conflicts with other statutes
Looking ahead
Counseling clients
Litigation hot topics

4. gender-based wage gap

5. gender pay gap by state

6. occupational segregation

7. development of fair pay laws: federal
Equal Pay Act of 1963
equal pay for equal work
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964:
bars sex discrimination in employment, including compensation
Lilly Ledbetter Act of 2009
resets 180-day statute of limitations for each paycheck
S Proposed Paycheck Fairness Act
restrict use of bona fide factor defense to wage discrimination claims,
enhance nonretaliation provisions
make it unlawful to require an employee to sign a contract or waiver prohibiting the employee from disclosing information about the employee's wages,
increase civil penalties for violations of equal pay provisions
training by EEOC and OFCCP
DOL grant program on negotiations skills training for women and girls, conduct studies on pay disparity, publicize wage discrimination
create Secretary of Labor's National Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace
require EEOC to issue regulations for collecting data from employers

8. development of fair pay laws: california
California Equal Pay Act of 1949
equal pay for equal work
Fair Employment and Housing Act (originally Fair Employment Practices Act of 1959)
prohibits sex discrimination, harassment and retaliation
California Comparable Worth Task Force, , majority and two minority reports, causes and solutions:
Market forces ———> continue to rely on evolving market forces
Some discrimination ———> excise the discriminatory elements or conduct
Systemic discrimination ———> conduct job evaluations and set compensation for all jobs based on skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions (with limited exceptions)

9. california fair pay act
California Fair Pay Act of 2015 as amended
addresses pay equity for “substantially similar” work based on gender, race and ethnicity
wages for substantially similar work based on composite of skill, effort, and responsibility, and performed under similar working conditions
exceptions: seniority, merit, quantity or quality of production, and bona fide factor other than sex, race, or ethnicity such as education, training, or experience
prior salary cannot alone justify pay disparity
eliminates “same establishment” for wage comparisons
authorizes civil actions
employees have right to disclose, inquire about, discuss and organize around wages
no retaliation
extends record keeping to three years

10. California Equal pay act: challenges
Challenges in implementation
Conflicts and coordination with other statutes
Cal. Labor Code § (January 1, 2018): employer may not seek or rely on applicants’ prior salary history
local ordinances
San Diego Equal Pay Ordinance (July 31, 2017): requires all city contractors to certify equal pay to their workers regardless of gender or ethnicity
San Francisco Parity in Pay Ordinance (January 1, 2018): prohibits employers in the city from asking job applicants about their salary history or from considering earnings information in determining whether to hire and what salary to offer an applicant

11. looking ahead Counseling clients employers employees
Litigation hot topics
Concluding thoughts