Our Blog Archive for May 31, 2007

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court made it much more difficult for plaintiffs to file pay discrimination claims under Title VII. In a 5-4 decision (Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.), the Court ruled that a plaintiff filing suit for pay discrimination under Title VII has 180 days to do so – and the 180-day clock starts to tick on the day the pay decision is made, and is not restarted when a new paycheck gets issued. If you’re interested in more details, you check out some good articles at Law.com, Washingtopost.com and NYTimes.com.

While this decision gives employers some breathing room and a defense against stale pay discrimination claims, it has Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and many women’s rights groups (including NOW and National Women’s Law Center) up in arms. Pay discrimination is often difficult to detect, and is generally not apparent on its face. It can take years to reveal itself. Ginsberg, in her dissent, made a call for legislative action “to note and correct the Court’s parsimonious reading of Title VII.”

But what does this all mean for you?

Well, first things first. The decision should not change your current pay practices, which should never be defined by a statute of limitations period. Rather, your pay practices should be driven by a desire and legal obligation (keep in mind that plaintiffs have Title VII, the Equal Pay Act and state law) to treat employees fairly and without regard to protected category status.

The reality is that pay disparities between men and women and whites and minorities persist, and that employers need to take a serious look at what’s going on inside their organizations. This recent decision shouldn’t change adherence to some critical best practices:

• Review your pay structure regularly for equity and fairness.

• Ensure that current pay practices are non-discriminatory.

• Review and fix pay inequities that are not justified.

• Review manager decisions, including pay and promotion decisions, to ensure that they are made with without regard to race or gender, or any other protected category.

• Train managers on EEO basics.

• Treat your employees fairly and with respect and you’ll reap the rewards – higher retention, productivity, and engagement.

• And remember, at the end of the day, we all have jobs to earn a pay check. When discriminatory conduct hits employees directly in the wallet, the results can be explosive.