Skip Navigation or Skip to Content

The Equal Pay Advisor

Nilan Johnson Lewis’ latest content on pay equity issues for employers.

Newsroom image for the post Pay Equity, Diversity Efforts, and Litigation Risks

Posted July 18, 2023 with Tags

Pay Equity, Diversity Efforts, and Litigation Risks

Many corporate employers throughout the United States have recognized the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion (“DEI”) as a matter of social justice, employee engagement and brand protection. These companies have adopted robust DEI plans, including pay equity efforts, and …

Newsroom image for the post Rhode Island Enacts Pay Equity Safe Harbor

Posted July 18, 2023 with Tags

Rhode Island Enacts Pay Equity Safe Harbor

We previously reported that several states have enacted safe harbors for employers who proactively audit their pay practices and remediate any observed equal pay violations. Now Rhode Island has joined the fray. The state’s new pay equity law, which became …

Newsroom image for the post New York Clarifies Scope of Pay Scale Reports

Posted April 13, 2023 with Tags

New York Clarifies Scope of Pay Scale Reports

For multi-state employers tracking pay transparency laws requiring salary ranges in job postings, recent amendments to the New York law provide welcome clarity. In its original form, the New York law would have required most employers to provide a range …

Newsroom image for the post The State of Pay Transparency Laws

Posted April 13, 2023 with Tags

The State of Pay Transparency Laws

Pay transparency laws are popping up across the country, forcing employers to comply with a patchwork of new, untested regulations. One aspect of these new laws that has caused employers to stumble is the requirement that job postings contain clear …

Newsroom image for the post Equal Pay Requirements and Antitrust

Posted April 13, 2023 with Tags

Equal Pay Requirements and Antitrust

Employers concerned with state and federal equal pay requirements are now facing a new potential concern: antitrust issues. The Biden administration’s Department of Justice has announced an intent to prosecute employers who share compensation data that implicates antitrust concerns. Employers …

Newsroom image for the post Equal Pay in 2023: A Preview

Posted December 18, 2022 with Tags

Equal Pay in 2023: A Preview

In recent years, equal pay legislation has taken a new form. Gone are the days in which recruiters must merely avoid questions about prior salary history. Now, various states require recruiters to respond to requests about the expected salary for …

Newsroom image for the post It’s the Best Time of the Year…For a Pay Equity Audit

Posted December 18, 2022 with Tags

It’s the Best Time of the Year…For a Pay Equity Audit

As 2022 draws to a close, employers are preparing for holiday parties, analyzing their staffing, and assessing compensation for the coming year in light of significant inflationary pressures and historically low unemployment rates. One item employers should consider is pay …

Newsroom image for the post Top 5 Reasons to Do a Pay Equity Audit in 2022

Posted March 2, 2022 with Tags

Top 5 Reasons to Do a Pay Equity Audit in 2022

There’s no time like the present to conduct a pay equity audit. This year, employers face historic competition to recruit and retain talent. With continued pressure to increase DE&I efforts and a wave of new pay equity laws, a pay …

Newsroom image for the post Keeping Up With Pay Transparency Laws

Posted March 2, 2022 with Tags

Keeping Up With Pay Transparency Laws

New York City will soon be joining the growing list of jurisdictions that have passed pay transparency laws. Effective May 15, 2022, employers with at least four employees in New York City will be required to disclose the minimum and …

Newsroom image for the post Remote Employees and Colorado Pay Disclosure Requirements

Posted November 16, 2021 with Tags

Remote Employees and Colorado Pay Disclosure Requirements

Over the last few years, employers across the United States have become accustomed to dealing with a patchwork of state pay equity requirements, including some that give employees the right to request and openly discuss and disclose their wages. A handful of states and municipalities have gone farther, enacting pay transparency schemes under which employers must affirmatively disclose the pay ranges for a position. States that impose some kind of pay transparency requirement include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Nevada, Rhode Island, Washington. These states, and others, have recently adopted new or revised pay equity statutes imposing additional requirements upon employers.

Newsroom image for the post Roving Employees and How to Pay Them

Posted November 16, 2021 with Tags

Roving Employees and How to Pay Them

Employers in the not-to-distant past constructed pay scales based in part on the location of the employees. Employers routinely paid employees in New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles a premium. By 2021, however, the concept of a worksite has been exploded, and employees work virtually from across the country. This change has dramatic implications for employers analyzing whether to structure pay scales tailored to geographic locales.

Newsroom image for the post Pay Equity Analyses in the Land of Zoom

Posted November 16, 2021 with Tags

Pay Equity Analyses in the Land of Zoom

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted many areas of the employment landscape. Job descriptions, essential functions, ADA accommodations, undue hardship, and Title VII religious accommodations are all areas that have been substantially impacted by the virtual work environment and the availability of mechanisms such as Zoom to substitute for physical attendance. Pay equity analyses are just the latest area to be impacted by the virtual environment. Employers may need to rethink how they conduct their pay equity analyses going forward.

Newsroom image for the post Does Your State Prohibit Asking Salary History?

Posted September 9, 2021 with Tags

Does Your State Prohibit Asking Salary History?

Nevada and Rhode Island will soon join the growing list of state and local governments prohibiting employers from requesting salary history from applicants, the most common form of pay equity legislation. As employers transition to remote workforces and attract applicants …

Newsroom image for the post Pay Equity and the Pandemic: A Primer for Higher Ed

Posted May 24, 2021 with Tags

Pay Equity and the Pandemic: A Primer for Higher Ed

After a year unlike any other, colleges and universities are grappling with historical challenges. While adjusting to reduced attendance, converting to online programming, and ensuring a healthy and safe environment, many higher education institutions operated with significant budget shortfalls. The resulting furloughs, layoffs, and work reductions may add a wrinkle—pay equity complaints. 

Newsroom image for the post Illinois Adopts New Equal Pay Requirements

Posted May 24, 2021 with Tags

Illinois Adopts New Equal Pay Requirements

Many states across the country have adopted new or revised equal pay laws in an effort to address pay inequities in the workplace. Illinois joined that list with March 22, 2021 amendments to the Illinois Equal Pay Act of 2003 and Illinois Business Corporation Act, which took immediate effect. The amendments require employers to assemble, submit, and, in some cases, even publish demographic and pay equity data. 

Newsroom image for the post Biden Administration Pushes New Federal Equal Pay Requirements

Posted May 24, 2021 with Tags

Biden Administration Pushes New Federal Equal Pay Requirements

During the Trump Administration, equal pay advocates focused their attention on legislative and regulatory changes at the state and local levels. These advocates believed change was impossible at the federal level. Still, they successfully convinced states to revise their equal pay statutes and enhance state-level protections against pay inequities. However, with the changing of the White House, pay equity advocates have refocused their attention back on the federal government.

Newsroom image for the post Pay Equity Advocates Leverage Shareholder Derivative Lawsuits To Drive Pay Equity Efforts

Posted April 5, 2021 with Tags , ,

Pay Equity Advocates Leverage Shareholder Derivative Lawsuits To Drive Pay Equity Efforts

Pay equity advocates have used a variety of mechanisms to pressure employers to prioritize pay equity in the workplace. These efforts include shareholder resolutions regarding pay equity, threats of divestiture, and public campaigns against particular employers. Recently, pay equity advocates have unveiled a new tactic to enhance pressure on public corporations to prioritize pay equity: failure to comply with their own pay equity promises. These lawsuits signal a new front in the activist war against perceived pay inequities.

Newsroom image for the post Resurrecting EEO-1 Component 2: California Mandates Pay Data Reporting by March 31

Posted March 3, 2021 with Tags

Resurrecting EEO-1 Component 2: California Mandates Pay Data Reporting by March 31

As part of its continuing efforts to combat pay discrimination, California enacted a new pay data reporting law at the end of 2020. The law requires certain employers to submit annual reports to the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), detailing their California employees’ yearly compensation and hours worked based on job category, race, ethnicity, and gender classifications. Pay data reports for the 2020 reporting year are due on March 31, 2021. Employers who will be subject to these reporting requirements should ensure they understand and collect the information needed to complete the report on time.

Newsroom image for the post EEOC and DFEH Using EEO-1 Pay Data to Find Intersectional or Gender-Plus Claims

Posted March 3, 2021 with Tags

EEOC and DFEH Using EEO-1 Pay Data to Find Intersectional or Gender-Plus Claims

Employers that provided EEO-1 Component Two pay data to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), or are currently preparing to provide data to the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) as part of California’s new pay data reporting requirement, are doubtless interested in learning how the agencies will use the data. One likely answer is that the EEOC and DFEH will use employer’s data to identify instances of “intersectional” pay discrimination. That is, claims of pay discrimination that involve the combination of two or more protected classes (such as race and gender), which are also commonly referred to as “gender-plus” claims (e.g., gender-plus-race).

Newsroom image for the post Pay Equity Advocacy Groups Target Employer Brand & Morale

Posted July 14, 2020 with Tags

Pay Equity Advocacy Groups Target Employer Brand & Morale

Pay inequities can create government regulatory problems with the EEOC and OFCCP, for example, and can also present litigation risks in the form of government lawsuits or private class actions. But pay equity issues also can result in brand and morale challenges that may ultimately be more significant than those in the regulatory and litigation contexts. Because of new, creative tactics from advocacy groups, as well as changes in the societal and media environments, employers should place greater focus on the brand and morale aspects of pay equity.

Posted March 2, 2020 with Tags

Charting a Safe Course into Equal Pay “Safe Harbors”

The rising tide of state pay equity legislation shows no sign of abating, with several new laws set to become effective in 2020 and 2021. Many of these laws differ from the federal Equal Pay Act by defining comparable work more broadly, limiting the factors on which employers can rely to justify pay disparities, and imposing additional penalties. A handful of the laws also attempt to balance these new burdens on employers by creating “safe harbors” for those who proactively assess and address their pay gaps.

Posted October 24, 2019 with Tags

Overview for Employers: More State Pay Equity Laws Coming Online

New pay equity requirements have already taken effect in 2019 in Alabama, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Oregon, and the State of Washington. And this trend isn’t slowing down, as even more requirements are slated to take effect in fall 2019 and beyond, including in Colorado, Oregon, New York, and New Jersey. Employers should take care to review their recruiting, interviewing, and other hiring practices—many of these new laws join the growing, nationwide trend banning pre-employment inquiries about salary history.

Newsroom image for the post Simplistic Pay Equity Analyses Doing More Harm Than Good

Posted October 23, 2019 with Tags

Simplistic Pay Equity Analyses Doing More Harm Than Good

In recent years, some investors have grown increasingly vocal about pay equity issues, with a few investor funds calling on companies to publish compensation data by gender. While the intentions are commendable, its approach is problematic because the median pay gap is easily misinterpreted as a measure of “all things being equal.”

Posted May 15, 2019 with Tags

Colorado Joins Ranks of States Adopting Equal Pay Statutes

No area of labor and employment law has seen more state attention in the last two years than pay equity. California, New York, Massachusetts, and Maryland have passed legislation facilitating equal pay litigation and imposing additional regulatory requirements upon employers. 2019 promises to continue that trend.

Posted May 15, 2019 with Tags

Wave of Equal Pay Lawsuits Continues to Build

Equal pay issues are receiving a great deal of attention in the media, at regulatory agencies, and in various state legislatures. Given all this attention, it is unsurprising plaintiffs’ law firms have been quick to jump on the equal pay bandwagon. Experienced plaintiffs’ class action firms have launched a variety of equal pay class or collective actions against employers. And those law firms have deployed a sophisticated array of tools to prosecute those claims.

Scroll to the top of the web page anchor link.