On September 12, 2019, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that it does not intend to renew its request for authorization to collect employers’ pay data on the EEO-1 form in future years. The announcement comes less than three weeks before the September 30, 2019, deadline for employers nationwide to submit massive amounts of pay data for 2017 and 2018.
The EEOC’s decision to forgo collecting pay data means it will be harder for the EEOC or the Department of Labor to bring Equal Pay Act (EPA) claims and more difficult for female employees to marshal the type of data to substantiate their EPA claims.
What’s a female employee to do? In a word, be proactive and self-advocate. If you believe that you are being paid less money for equal work – as women often are, statistically speaking – then talk to your co-workers and obtain any supporting documentation you can. At some companies (e.g. Whole Foods), you can request data regarding gender and wages which employers are obligated to provide. This wage transparency also is part of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which the House of Representatives passed earlier this year (although the bill has stalled in the Senate). Remember, being proactive and self-advocating is the best way to ensure that your pay is equal to that of your male counterparts for similar work.
If you have questions regarding your pay, please contact Shavitz Law Group at (561) 447-8888 or visit us at www.shavitzlaw.com to learn more about your rights.