The following discussion concerns the California Fair Pay Act, and how to apply it. If you are unfamiliar with the Act, you may wish to begin by reading this blog.
I get calls from employers asking: “When I group my employees by substantial similarity of work, how do I know that I am doing it correctly?” These employers fear that someone – a Court, a plaintiff, or an employee – will come along and challenge the employer’s determination of who among its employees are engaged in “substantially similar” work.
The statute affirmatively requires employers to engage in that grouping. Unlike earlier equal pay act legislation, California’s Fair Pay Act puts the burden of proving compliance with the statute on the employer. Many employers are understandably concerned that their categorization of employees into groups of “substantial similarity” will be subject to criticism and attack.
The statutory language itself provides some relief to this anxiety. The section says:
Continue Reading California Fair Pay Act Confusion – Understanding California Labor Code Section 1197.5
