Employers must balance the demands of complying with pay transparency and equity laws with the flexibility to make salary decisions that align with the business, said James Atkinson, vice president of thought leadership at SHRM.
Atkinson moderated a panel of legal experts at the recent SHRM Workplace Law Forum 2024 in Washington, D.C., covering the latest developments around pay transparency and equity laws as well as the steps employers can take to withstand possible scrutiny of their compensation practices.
Nearly all U.S. employers are subject to the federal Equal Pay Act of 1963, which prohibits wage discrimination based on sex for similar work within the same workplace. But state and local governments have recently been pushing to address broader pay inequities through laws focusing on pay transparency, prohibition of salary history inquiries, and additional reporting requirements. While these measures aim to address inequities, they may impose undue burdens on employers or complicate traditional salary decisions based on education and experience, Atkinson said.
Annette Tyman, a partner in the Chicago office of Seyfarth, said that employers shouldn’t expect any new pay legislation at the federal level but that states would continue to take action on pay transparency and equity.
She explained that pay transparency laws typically require employers to share information relating to job compensation with applicants (and sometimes with employees).
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