Tuesday, April 2 marks Equal Pay Day throughout the country and promotes the importance and need for the elimination of the gender wage gap. Both Pennsylvania and New Jersey have made strides to close the gap, but while some legislation has passed other proposals remain up in the air or failed to gain enough traction to be enacted. Last Thursday, the U.S. House passed the Paycheck Fairness Act, which will increase the difficulties of employers who may continue to permit gender wage gaps among their employees, but it still needs to pass the Senate.
In Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia City Council passed a bill in 2017 that bans employers from inquiring about the salary histories of potential employees although detractors of the bill still debate over whether it infringes on the employers’ rights to free speech. Both Pennsylvania and New Jersey engaged executive orders to stop the practice of gender wage gaps in government agencies. In 2018, New Jersey updated their equal pay laws to cover all types of employees, prohibit employers from requiring their staff to sign documents regarding the disclosure of compensation, and requesting compensation figures according to gender and race from public companies.
If you became a victim of wage discrimination or gender pay disparity at your workplace, contact our Philadelphia wage dispute attorneys at The Gold Law Firm P.C. at 215-569-1999 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation. We will guide you through the claim-filing process and ensure you a favorable outcome. Our offices are located in Philadelphia and Pennsauken, New Jersey, and we serve clients in the surrounding areas, including Bucks County, Chester County, Delaware County, and Montgomery County, as well as in South Jersey.
