Wolters Kluwer Assembles State-By-State Breakdown of Gender-Based Equal Pay Protections

NEW YORK, Aug. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

What: Gender-Based Equal Pay Protections State-By-State in 2021

Why: 2021 marks 50 years following the landmark Supreme Court decision, Reed v. Reed, which invalidated an Idaho law that required the selection of a man over a woman to serve as administrator of an estate when both were equally qualified. The National Women's Law Center notes that this case, where the woman challenging this law was supported by Ruth Bader Ginsburg during her time at the American Civil Liberties Union, marked the first time in history that the Court applied the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to strike down a law that discriminated against women.  

Today, gender-based equal pay protections still vary state-to-state and employers are regularly challenged in court for unequal pay practices and sex-based discrimination. Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. has assembled a state-by-state breakdown of gender-based equal pay protections.  

• EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK: Employers may not pay any employees less than the rate of wages paid to employees of another sex for equal work within the same establishment on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, experience, and responsibility under similar working conditions.
• EQUAL PAY FOR WORK OF COMPARABLE CHARACTER/WORTH: Employers may not discriminate in wage payment between the sexes at lower wages than those paid to males/opposite sex for work of comparable character/comparable requirements, in the same operation/business, or type of work in the same locality. While different language is used (comparable vs. equal,) this is generally interpreted to be essentially the same standard as the federal Equal Pay Act standard.
• EQUAL PAY FOR SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR WORK: Employers may not pay employees at wages less than the rates paid to employees of the opposite sex for substantially similar work, when viewed as a composite of skill, effort, and responsibility, and performed under similar working conditions. This is a lower standard of proof than the federal Equal Pay Act standard—it benefits employees by providing better protection.
• NO SPECIFIC EQUAL PAY REQUIREMENTS: No specific Equal Pay requirements, although pay discrimination prohibitions may apply.

Who:  Pamela Wolf, J.D., is a senior legal analyst at Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. who tracks and analyzes labor and employment issues including White House and federal agency developments, federal regulations, court decisions, state and federal legislation, and other trends impacting employee workplace protections. Pamela can discuss the different state and federal legislation in place to regulate equal pay in the workplace and guard against gender-based wage discrimination.

"Employers, especially those operating in multiple U.S. jurisdictions, must keep in mind that the federal 'equal pay for equal worth' standard always applies, but in some jurisdictions, employees have even greater protections against gender-based wage discrimination. Ten states have enacted laws applying an 'equal pay for substantially similar work' standard."  

Contact: To arrange an interview with Pamela Wolf or other legal experts from Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory, U.S. on this or any other legal-related topics, please contact [email protected] 

About Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S.

Wolters Kluwer (WKL) is a global leader in professional information, software solutions, and services for the healthcare; tax and accounting; governance, risk and compliance; and legal and regulatory sectors. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with technology and services.

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SOURCE Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S.