Equal Pay Law

There are many federal and state laws that affect how much businesses pay their employees. An employee earnings should be high enough to motivate him/her to be good producers, yet low enough for businesses to maintain profits. However, some employees experience wage discrimination within the workplace. To help regulate this, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 prohibits employers from paying unequal wages, based on gender. Men and women employed in the same establishment, doing substantially equal work must be paid the same wages (McKay, 2010).

To define equal work, it has been described with four factors. Skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions determine if the equal pay law has been violated (Bergmann & Martin, 1995). To illustrate, employee skills are measured by experience, ability, education, and training required to perform the job. Only the skills required for the job are relevant. This means that two plumber positions are considered equal, even if one of the job holders has a law degree. Experience in law is not necessary in the plumbing field, so these two plumbing positions are considered equal in the eyes of the Equal Pay Act. Next is effort, if two employees have a similar job, but one regularly requires additional physical or mental exertion, it is not a violation of the Equal Pay Act to compensate them differently. For example, If Paul and Thomas both operate cash registers all day, but Paul is in charge of calculating the end of day balance and dropping the deposits off at the bank, it is justifiable to pay Paul a higher hourly wage than Thomas. "In addition, The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) advises that a major difference in job responsibility can be a factor in pay difference. If two salespeople have the same job tasks, but one has the extra task of turning the lights out at the end of the day, that effort is considered a minor responsibility and would not justify a higher wage. Furthermore, comparisons of workplace conditions are based on two factors: physical surroundings like temperature, fumes, and ventilation; and workplace hazards. Employees that work in difficult or less-than-desirable working conditions may be entitled to a higher wage" (Byrd, 254).

More importantly, the legal requirement for federal employment law

s overall is to grant employees the appropriate wages fairly. Considering the situation of hiring Erica for a higher salary then Eric, the firm would need to develop a policy to show compliance of equal pay. If both individuals are completing the same job in every way, Erica should not receive higher pay. To correct this, the firm established guidelines. First, showing support of equality is important. The firm supports the principles of equality and the valuing of a diverse workforce. Male and female employees, those from different racial groups and those with and without disabilities should receive equal pay for the same work. The firm recognizes that in order to achieve equal pay for employees carrying out equal work, a pay system which is based on objective criteria and free from unfair bias on any grounds, including sex, race or disability must be in place. The firm intends through the above action to avoid unfair discrimination, to reward fairly the skills, experience and potential of all employees and to increase efficiency and enhance the firm's reputation and image.

To implement the policy, the firm must examine existing and future pay practices for all employees including part-time workers, those who are absent on maternity leave, career breaks and other forms of paid and unpaid leave. Also, the firm will carry out regular monitoring of the impact of pay practices, for example by conducting equal pay audits and surveys. Lastly, the necessary training should take place. The firm will provide guidance for managers and supervisors involved in decisions about pay and benefits. To overcome the objections, the firm must eliminate any unfair, unjust or unlawful practices that impact on pay; take appropriate remedial action; review other firms policies to ensure consistency with equal pay principles. To achieve these objectives the