A few weeks ago, a jury in New Jersey federal court found that Lockheed Martin discriminated against a former employee. The employee claimed that Lockheed violated federal and state laws by discriminating against him on the basis of age, including by paying him less than his younger co-workers. The jury’s award: $51.5 million ($1.5 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages). Although the claim was only partially based on unequal pay, and although the punitive damages award is constitutionally suspect (U.S. Supreme Court precedent holds that punitive damages should generally not be more than ten times the amount of compensatory damages), the award is indicative of an ever-emerging emphasis on pay equity.
Since January of 2016, several states have enacted equal pay statutes, and several others have pending legislation. California, New York, Maryland, and Massachusetts all have statues that prohibit pay discrimination on the basis of sex (Maryland’s also includes gender identity). Each of these statutes makes it easier for employees to establish pay discrimination claims, including requiring no proof of intent. One state, however, allows employers to establish an affirmative defense. Under Massachusetts’ statute, which is set to go into effect in July 2018, an employer has an affirmative defense if it completed a self-evaluation of its pay practices within three years of the claim, and it made reasonable progress toward eliminating pay differences revealed by the self-evaluation.
It is not just states that have turned their focus toward compensation. Our federal contractor subscribers – recognizing that Lockheed Martin is a federal contractor (the biggest, actually) – may find themselves wondering how aggressive the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has become with respect to compensation. If its lawsuit against Google is any indication, OFCCP has become quite aggressive. Typically, during a compliance audit OFCCP will require employers to provide compensation data for all current employees to ensure no disparity across races and genders. With Google, it went further. It demanded wage histories, changes in compensation, and employee contact information. When Google refused, OFCCP filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction and threatened to cancel all of Google’s federal contracts.
Finally, even if you are not in a state that has current or pending pay equity statutes, and even if you are not a federal contractor, employers may need to report compensation in the future. For employers with 100 employees or more, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has proposed to collect compensation data by sex, race, and ethnicity for each job category. Thus, starting in March 2018 – assuming no changes occur under the new Trump administration – those employers will be required to include compensation information in their EEO-1 report. According to the EEOC, this “will provide a much needed tool to identify discriminatory pay practices where they exist in order to ensure that fair pay practices are put in place.”
Considering all this momentum toward ensuring pay equity, compensation has possibly become one of employers’ greatest vulnerabilities. Now may be the time to conduct an internal analysis – preferably one shielded by attorney-client privilege – to determine whether disparities exist within your compensation structure. For federal contractors, stay tuned for future podcasts, webinars, and seminars that will address this issue in part.
