b'Equal Pay ActWho, What, Why . . . Who does it apply to: Virtually all employers with employees ofArethereexceptions:Thefollowingexceptionsmayallow the opposite sexes are subject to the Equal Pay Act (EPA). disparity over wages between the sexes: Seniority: A male employee hired five years ago may makeWhat is the rule: Employers cannot pay one sex higher wagesmore than a female employee hired five minutes ago so than the other for jobs that require equal work based on skill,long as the seniority system is formalized and has been effort, and responsibility that are performed under the samefollowed closely in the past.workingconditionsunlessthereisalegitimateexceptionto Merit: A female employee who has performed admirably justify the difference. in an orderly and systematically applied system may make more than a male counterpart for the same job.Merit Whatcountsaswages:Almostanythingyouofferasansystems should be formalized such that they are in writing incentive to an employee is counted under the EPA. It includesor all of the employees are clear on the policy.pay,bonuses,expenseaccounts,allowances,lodging,use of a company car, etc. It also includes fringe benefits such as Quantity/Quality pay systems: Male and female paid based insurance, retirement benefits, leave, vacation or Paid Time Offon the quantity of items they produce or the quality of the (PTO), holidays, and regular days off. work they produce may be paid differently so long as there arenootherextraneousdiscriminatoryfactorsaffecting What goes into equal work:Under the EPA, job titles dont maketheir pay. much difference. The EPA looks across descriptions to make Factors other than sex: The black hole of distinctions.sure like work goes with like pay. To answer the question you setItcouldbeanything,butitbetterbewellthoughtout aside the common core duties between the jobs in question andand documented. Examples that have been accepted in focus on the differences in the following: thiscategoryareexperience,trainingprovidedwithoutSkill:Considertheexperience,training,educationanddiscrimination, financial crisis, differences in educational ability required to do the job (not of the person doing it).background of the employees, and actual economic benefit Effort: Consider the level of physical and mental exertionto the employer (one employee produces higher profits in requiredtodothejobincludingfactorsthatcreateorthe same job).alleviate stress in performance of the work.Common Situations: Responsibility:Considerthedegreeofaccountability,Market force theory: General Electronics has discovered that creativity, supervisory responsibility and individual judgmentwomen will historically and statistically work for less than men that go into performing the job. and rarely attempt to bargain a better wage at hiring. Upon suitWorkingconditions:Considerthesurroundingsandby an employee, the company raises this as a defense. They hazards of the position.Is it dangerous or distasteful?Is itpaywomenlessbecausetheyarewillingtoworkforless.unpleasantly hot or cold? Will this defense hold up? No, but it has been tried in several If these characteristics are the same or very similar, the jobsvariations many times.will be considered the same under the EPA and any differences specifically between the sexes will create liability, unless anRed circle rates: Sarah has been with Bayou Bakery for 35 exception applies. years and just cant knead the dough like she used to. Without 27'