wage gap

An Update On Pay Gap Shareholder Proposals

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For nearly five years, major U.S. corporations have been subject to intense scrutiny over their decisions on whether to release internal pay gap percentages in response to shareholder proposals by Arjuna Capital, LLC and other activist shareholder groups. As these activist groups maintain a keen interest in seeking compensation-related disclosures from industry giants, employers should be mindful of certain issues in considering their response. READ MORE →

Closing the Gender Pay Gap in France: Get Ready

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Equality between men and women has been declared in France a “great national cause” of Emmanuel Macron’s Presidency in the wake of the #MeToo movement.

In March 2018, the French government unveiled an action plan for gender equality in the workplace consisting of ten measures aiming at reducing the gender pay gap and five measures to fight sexual and gender based violence. READ MORE →

Tech Giants Continue To Face The Equal Pay Litigation Spotlight

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In recent years, the volume of equal pay lawsuits has continued to increase in Silicon Valley, despite technology companies reaffirming their commitment to equal pay policies and practices. Earlier this month, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (“HP”) was hit with the latest equal pay lawsuit. The class action lawsuit, filed in Santa Clara Superior Court, alleges that HP discriminated against its female workers by paying them less than their male counterparts and funneling women into certain jobs based on stereotypes. READ MORE →

Connecticut Soon to Join The Prior Salary Ban(dwagon)

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Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy is poised to sign into law the Act Concerning Pay Equity bill, which has been passed by both the Connecticut House and Senate General Assembly.  In what Governor Malloy referred to as “commonsense legislation” to address pay equity concerns, the Connecticut bill would prohibit an employer, or a third party acting on the employer’s behalf (like a recruiting firm), from inquiring about a prospective employee’s wage and salary history unless voluntarily disclosed by the applicant.  The bill does permit an employer to inquire about other components that contributed to the applicant’s previous total compensation package, but not about the value of those items.  Although no examples are provided in the legislation, it would seemingly be permissible to ask whether a prospective employee received stock options at their previous employment, but not the value of those options. READ MORE →

California Takes One Step Closer to Imposing Reporting Requirements and Public Shaming for Employer Pay Gaps

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When we last checked in on AB 1209, the Gender Pay Gap Transparency Act, the proposed legislation was making its way through the California Senate. After making a few key amendments, the Senate passed the bill on September 7, 2017. The California Assembly approved the amendments on September 11, 2017, and now the fate of AB 1209 lies in the hands Governor Jerry Brown. READ MORE →

Fair Enough? New Equal Pay Legislation Expands California’s Fair Pay Act

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Just less than a year ago, California adopted the Fair Pay Act (“FPA”), which took effect on January 1, 2016 and created some of the strongest equal pay protections in the nation.  On September 30, 2016, Governor Jerry Brown signed two bills that expand the law even further.

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