A U.S. appeals court on Monday ruled employers cannot use workers’ salary histories to justify gender-based pay disparities, saying that would perpetuate a wage gap that is "an embarrassing reality of our economy.”
An 11-judge panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that California’s Fresno County could not pay a female math consultant, Aileen Rizo, thousands of dollars less than male colleagues who did similar work because of her salary history, reversing a decision from a smaller panel last year.
Congress outlawed pay discrimination based on gender in the federal Equal Pay Act in 1963.
TRENDING NOW

PM Modi arrives at party headquarters after BJP secures win in Rajasthan, is leading in MP and Chhattisgarh

Telangana Election Result 2023: Revanth Reddy, the man who led Congress' dramatic turnaround in southern state

Assembly Election 2023 Results Update: MPs who win assembly polls have to quit one seat in 14 days, says Expert

India vs Australia 5th T20I Free Live Streaming: When and Where to watch IND VS AUS T20I series Match LIVE on Mobile Apps, TV, Laptop, Online

Telangana Election Result 2023: Congress wins from Jukkal and Medak, BRS nets Quthbullapur constituency

Assembly Election 2023 Results Update: PM Modi congratulates voters for Assembly wins in MP, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan
"At the time of the passage of the (EPA), an employee’s prior pay would have reflected a discriminatory marketplace that valued the equal work of one sex over the other," Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote. "Congress simply could not have intended to allow employers to rely on these discriminatory wages as a justification for continuing to perpetuate wage differentials."
Reinhardt died late last month after more than 37 years on the 9th Circuit bench.
Rizo`s lawyer, Daniel Siegel, said the decision is an important ruling that will benefit women who have been paid less because of past salary inequities.
Michael Woods, a lawyer for Fresno County, said in a statement the county used an objective, gender-neutral policy for setting teacher`s pay and will challenge the ruling at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Rizo sued after she discovered in 2012 that her male coworkers were paid more than her, about three years after she started working for Fresno County.
The county said Rizo was paid less than her male counterparts based on her prior salary history, which was a valid "factor other than sex" allowed under the EPA.
In Monday’s ruling, the 9th Circuit said salary history cannot be used, whether alone or with other factors, to justify gender-based pay gaps. Only legitimate, job-related factors, such as a prospective employee’s experience, training, education or prior performance, can justify gender-based pay disparities under the EPA, the court said.
Prior salary is a "second-rate surrogate" for those job-related factors and likely masks continuing pay inequities, the court said.
Women made 82 cents for every dollar earned by men in 2016, according to U.S. Labor Department data.
(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
03:22 am