If you were to ask just any business owner if their employees should receive equal pay for equal work or if they could be paid differently based on gender, ethnicity, race, religion and national origin, I’m certain that most would reply, “What are you talking about? Equal pay for equal work is the law.”
It sure is, and likely that same employer would say, “If I respect this concept of equal pay for equal work, I’m good, right?”
Well, not so fast. Employers today are facing pay concepts that could upset the applecart at many organizations.
Pay transparency vs pay equity
At one time, employees could not discuss or inquire what others were being paid. But recently, several states enacted pay transparency laws that require companies to be open about compensation for current and prospective employees. I wrote about this late last year in the article Yes, You Can Discuss Your Salary With Your Co-Workers .
Without violating antitrust laws, companies may share compensation information, including how salaries are determined, ranges and even the pay of individual employees. But they must not “fix” salaries by conspiring with other companies in the same field to keep wages low.