How do you prove equal pay?

Last Updated on August 17, 2023 by

Introduction

Finding out the salaries of your coworkers who do the same job for the firm as you do might help you demonstrate pay discrimination. It seems sensible to ask if you have a case for wage discrimination when a coworker of a different identity does the same job as you but earns a lot more money than you do. 

Knowing whether you are getting paid differently from your peers for identical work and what criteria your employer considered might be challenging on your own.

How to Establish Pay Discrimination under State Law

In order to prove pay discrimination under the New York State Labor Law, we must demonstrate that you are a member of one or more legally protected groups and that the wage you received was less than that of an employee without that status in the same workplace for:

• equivalent work for executing a task that necessitated the same levels of responsibility, competence, and effort or
• Substantially equivalent work that is completed under comparable working conditions and is assessed as integrating responsibility, effort, and competence.

Talking About Pay

Your employer is not authorized to prevent you and your coworkers from talking about your pay under New York Labor Law section 194(4). However, your employer is permitted to enact regulations that set reasonable restrictions on the times, locations, and methods of wage-related inquiries. If your company adopts such a policy, it must be communicated to you in writing. The limitations need to be:

• Justified without mentioning the regulated speech’s content
• specifically crafted to further a significant interest
• Provide several opportunities for discussing pay.

You might be able to gather material that tends to support your wage discrimination claim informally if you adhere to your employer’s policies. However, if your case goes to trial, we’ll still need to provide admissible evidence to support your claim. 

In order to give you a sense of what admissible evidence we would need to prove your case, Equal pay claims employment attorney can also examine the specific policy of your workplace. They might be able to provide you advice on how to get pertinent information informally while still adhering to the rules.

Proof of pay discrimination in writing

You need to keep a contemporaneous record of any wage disparities you learn about via coworkers or other sources. This can entail keeping a journal in which you record events at work as they happen and note wage disparities as they emerge. 

Additionally, you should save copies of any emails, letters, social media postings, and other writings that seem to highlight differences in your workplace based on gender or any protected feature. Any of these might serve as supporting data for your claim.

Establish Pay Discrimination in Light of City Law

Employers employing four or more workers are covered under the New York City Human Rights Law. It mandates equality in all facets of employment, including compensation and benefits. 

Because you belong to a protected class, you shouldn’t be paid more or less than another worker. You should retain all of your correspondence and maintain a contemporaneous record to be utilized as proof of wage discrimination, just like required by state law. 

In the event that you forget details throughout the course of the litigation, which might last for more than a year, this record can also aid in refreshing your memory.

Establish Pay Discrimination in Light of the Federal Equal Pay Act

“Equal pay for equal labor” is the threshold for pay discrimination based on gender under federal law. This is a more demanding criterion that puts pressure on employees seeking compensation for damages. However, it’s possible that federal case law will be helpful. We will look into every possible option for payment.

Pay Discrimination Evidence

It would be uncommon for your employer to blatantly inform you that a protected attribute, is the reason why your pay is lower than that of other employees. But on rare occasions, an employer could acknowledge this, either in writing or in a chat with you or a coworker.

In most cases, Equal pay claims employment attorney must provide direct or inferential proof that there is pay discrimination by demonstrating that there is disproportionate remuneration and that the unequal compensation is caused by your protected trait. They will attempt to prove a connection between your protected trait and an equal pay violation. 

You might be able to demonstrate pay discrimination by proof of these inequalities, for instance, if you are Asian American and you and all of your Asian American coworkers are getting paid less than all of your white coworkers for the same task.

Conclusion

It might be difficult to demonstrate that you were paid differently than your peers. You might be thinking that how can wage discrimination be proven? However, skilled employment discrimination lawyers are aware of the types of tactics that are most likely to succeed both before and during a trial.

Hiring Equal pay claims employment attorney can aid you to prove that discrimination in wages with their years of experience and dedication in the field.

Read More: What are the 5 areas of employment law?