Equal Pay Compliance

Pay data reporting and related equal pay litigation is now spreading across all industries. With class action settlements worth millions of dollars on the rise and activist groups demanding new laws that require an employer to submit actual pay data to government agencies, employers need to ensure they are in compliance with all applicable equal pay laws. That’s not easy when laws vary from state to state and, at times, vary greatly from federal mandates.

Our attorneys are here to help employers navigate the myriad of equal pay laws and requirements, and to help ensure compliance. We conduct internal audits of an employer’s compensation data to help identify pay disparities and implement best practices to stay in compliance. We help design and implement policies and practices that help to better shield employers from allegations of unlawful pay disparities.  We also assist employers in meeting their pay data reporting obligations unique to their operations.  Of course, when necessary, we responsibly defend claims of unlawful pay practices.

The Audit

Conducting an audit of an employer’s pay data is the first step to mitigate any issues. During this process we review current compensation policies and established pay determinations to ensure that these decisions are well documented with litigation in mind. We will help identify any pay differences across protected classifications and justify any necessary pay disparities, such as experience, skills, productivity, performance, seniority or any other lawful factor that may apply. 

Compliance & Pay Data Reporting

Anyone responsible for determining compensation and related pay programs and systems needs to have a complete understanding of equal pay laws and how they apply to their business or organization. We train management and human resources personnel so they have a complete understanding of the applicable pay equality laws. We review (and, often revise) policies, performance evaluations, job descriptions and other critical documents to mitigate risk and ensure compliance with these ever evolving laws. We work in tandem with employers to ensure that any required pay data reporting is in conformity with unique legal mandates.

Defending Claims & Lawsuits

When necessary we will be ready to defend pay equity claims and lawsuits. Knowing that claims of pay inequality are often sensitive and time consuming, our goal is to respond strategically to any claim against our clients. We pride ourselves in immediately evaluating the central allegations and quickly determine if, and why, a pay discrepancy exists and evaluate the best path forward to diminish financial exposure and remediate the problem.