The paycheck you receive should reflect your skills, experience and contribution to your company—not your gender. Still, many California employees discover significant pay gaps between themselves and opposite-gender colleagues.
Recognizing when these disparities cross the line into illegal discrimination is crucial for protecting your rights.
Equal pay for substantially similar work
Federal law, through the Equal Pay Act (EPA), and state law, such as the California Fair Pay Act, require equal pay for equal work. The law looks at the content of the job, not just the title.
The Fair Pay Act further mandates equal pay for employees of the opposite sex performing “substantially similar work,” even if they do not work in the same physical establishment. This means you can compare your pay to a male colleague in a different office or location if the job functions are fundamentally the same.
Identifying “substantially similar” jobs
The legal test for similar work focuses on four main components of the job.
- Skill: Consider the experience, training and education required for the job.
- Effort: This measures the mental or physical exertion needed to perform the duties.
- Responsibility: Look at the degree of accountability and the importance of the work.
- Working conditions: This involves the physical environment and hazards of the job.
You will need to analyze your duties against those of the higher-paid male employee. Minor differences in duties do not justify a pay gap if the overall work is substantially similar.
Burden of proof for employers
When you present evidence of unequal pay for similar work, the law requires your employer to prove a non-discriminatory reason. They must show the pay is based on one of these approved factors:
- A seniority system
- A merit system
- A system measuring production or quality
- A bona fide factor other than sex
Your employer has a heavy burden to show the factor is job-related and truly accounts for the entire pay gap. California law further reinforces that employers cannot use your prior salary to justify paying you less than a colleague. If your employer cannot prove that one of these factors fully explains the pay difference, they may violate the law.
Legal options to explore
If you believe your pay falls short due to your gender, you have several legal avenues to challenge the discriminatory practices and fight to recover the money you are owed.
Your path forward includes filing an administrative complaint with an agency or going directly to court. Claims under the federal EPA can go straight to court, while claims under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) generally require an administrative filing first.
Successfully proving a pay discrimination claim allows you to recover substantial damages aimed to restore the money you should have received. This may include back pay for the lost wages you experienced, an equal amount of liquidated damages (or double damages) and interest on the unpaid wages. In some cases, compensation for emotional distress and punitive damages may be available.