Conducting Pay Equity Audits

By: Jeffrey M. Landes and Ann Knuckles Mahoney, Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.

This article provides advice and guidance to employers regarding how to ensure compliance with equal pay laws, particularly the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA).

ALTHOUGH THE EPA HAS BEEN IN EFFECT FOR 50 YEARS, it gained renewed momentum with the Obama administration’s creation of the National Equal Pay Enforcement Task Force, composed of members of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Department of Justice, the Office of Personnel Management, and the Department of Labor. The task force has aggressively pursued employers who have violated the EPA’s requirements and has collected significant amounts of money for victims of sex-based wage discrimination. While it remains to be seen what efforts the current White House administration takes concerning equal pay, the momentum has continued with state equal pay legislation. Several states have amended their equal pay laws to broaden their scope beyond what the EPA requires.

Virtually all employers must comply with the EPA and many, depending on their size and the state in which they are located, must also comply with other federal and state laws regarding equal pay. To limit exposure for equal pay violations, employers should adopt policies and procedures that satisfy the EPA and other federal and state requirements and help them meet their equal pay obligations and/or existing audit requirements.

To read the full practice note in Lexis Practice Advisor, follow this link.

Jeffrey M. Landes is a member in Epstein Becker & Green’s Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice, in the firm’s New York office. His practice includes counseling clients in a variety of industries—including financial services, retail, and communications—in all facets of employment law, including compliance with EEO laws and other statutes governing the workplace, independent contractor issues, pay equity issues, wage/ hour compliance, executive terminations, restrictive covenants, drug testing, background checks, employee discipline and terminations, reorganizations, workplace investigations, leaves of absence, and development of handbooks and personnel policies and procedures. Ann Knuckles Mahoney’s practice focuses on labor and workforce management in the New York office of Epstein Becker & Green. She counsels employers on practices and procedures to promote compliance with employment-related laws and prepares employment, consulting, and separation agreements; employment applications; employee handbooks; and stand-alone policies. Ann assists in defending employers in labor and employment-related litigation in a broad array of matters, such as discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wage and hour disputes. She assists with representation of management in labor-related matters, including arbitration, the defense of unfair labor practice charges, and collective bargaining negotiations.