Female Hispanic workers have a double whammy of an unequal pay gap between them and white males doing comparable work. Studies show both race and sex contribute to the wide gap between them and white male employees more than any other comparison of races, ethnicities, and sex.
Quite surprisingly, in New Jersey, the pay gap between Hispanic women and white men is the largest in the United States according to the NJ governor’s office.
According to several surveys, female Hispanic employees have the largest disparity in pay between themselves and comparable white male workers, more than any other demographic. This is true across the board in every occupation in the United States. A Hispanic female earns only $.55 for every dollar a white male earns, while a white woman in comparable work earns $.79 compared to the white male’s dollar.
One would think that if a Hispanic female earns a higher degree, that the discrepancy in wages would shrink. However, acquiring a higher education does not help. The wage pay discrepancy actually increases when a Hispanic female has a college level or higher degree. Hispanic women with a bachelor’s degree or higher-level degree, experience an even greater disparity in wages compared to white men with a comparable level degree.
In New Jersey, a worker who is Hispanic and female and is paid less than her white counterparts for doing substantially the same job, may have an unequal pay and wage claim under the Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act.
If you are a NJ worker who is paid less for doing substantially the same kind of work as other employees, and the pay discrepancy is based upon your race, age, gender, sex, ethnicity, etc., you could be entitled to treble damages under the Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act if the employer has no legal defenses. The Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act is incorporated into the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. Out of 50 states, this New Jersey statute is the most aggressive equal pay law in the country by far. It protects women and minorities who are protected classes from being paid less than workers who are not in their protected classes.
Guileful employers wanting to maximize their profits and not mindful about discrimination, sometimes attempt to circumvent the law by assigning a different title for a person’s employment position as they assign to other employees for doing substantially the same work. However, the drafters of this NJ statute foresaw that some unscrupulous employers might so try to evade the purpose of the law and outmaneuver its intent. They therefore have language in the statute that addresses this. The Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act makes it illegal for an employer to pay less money to a person because of their sex, race, any of the protected classes in the NJLAD, than they pay others who are a different sex, race or class etc., who do substantially similar work even if the person has been given a different job title for the employment position.
Don’t sit on your rights!
If you believe your employer is discriminating against you because you are a member of a protected class such as age, sex, race, disability etc., you should contact this office immediately. I am successful in filing lawsuits on behalf of workers who were discriminated against at work and in recovering money to compensate them.
If you think your employer is violating the Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act or is discriminating against you, you should call this office today. I am an aggressive and compassionate employment law attorney who is experienced in successfully representing persons who were subjected to discrimination, harassment and retaliation in the workplace and/or were fired. If you have experienced discrimination at work, or if you reported it and no action was taken, if you are thinking of resigning, or think you will be fired, or have been fired, it is important that you consult with an attorney who is experienced in employment discrimination.
If you are being subjected to workplace discrimination, contact Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law today for a free consultation.
Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law serves clients throughout New Jersey, including Bergen, Middlesex, Essex, Hudson, Monmouth, Ocean, Union, Camden, Passaic, and Morris Counties with locations in southern, central, western and northern NJ to meet with clients.