It is unfortunate and sometimes illegal that employers will give pay raises to older male workers, but decline to give the same increases to their older female workers. If you are an older female worker who is not give raises on par with your male counterparts, you may have a claim for unequal pay under the Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act. I have represented numerous NJ employees whose employers illegally discriminated against them in wages and salary and was successful in recovering money for them.
This Act awards trebles damages to a plaintiff who was illegally discriminated against in pay because of sex or gender (and other protected classes). It is not necessary that you have the exact same job title. This Act makes it mandatory to not discriminate in pay if the workers are doing substantially similar job functions, even when the titles differ. Some other factors at times may apply however, such as the number of years the employees worked for the company, etc. As more and more women in their 50's and 60's are working, it is important that they do not sit on their rights if they are being discriminated against in pay because of their sex or gender. Women who are 45 to 64 years old suffer the biggest disparity in wages and salary compared to males in the same age grades according government statistics for 2020.
Unfortunately, unlike men, the longer a female works for a company, it does not guarantee that she will be on wage par with her male counterparts.
A recent government study shows that the pay gap between older men and older women actually gets larger as the workers’ ages increase.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics published the results of the median usual weekly earnings of workers in numerous demographic groups by selected characteristics including age and sex. The statistics demonstrate that according to national averages, the pay gap between male and female full-time and salary workers increases with their age grades:
Young female workers who are 16 to 19 years of age earn only 90% of males who are 16 to 19 in comparison of their median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary.
Full-time female workers who are 25 years of age and older, overall earn only 81% of full-time working males who 25 years of age and older.
Female full-time workers who are 25 to 34 years of age earn only 89% of full-time working males who are in the same age grade.
Female workers who are 35 to 44 years of age earn only 81% of males who are in the same age grade.
Women who are 45 to 64 years old experience the biggest disparity in wages and salary compared to males in the same age grades. Expanding two decades of their lifetime, full-time working women working in the 45-64 age grade make earnings only in the 77th percentile of men’s earnings in those age grades.
When workers are age 65 and older, women have salary and wages that is 80% of males age 65 and older.
If You Are Thinking of Resigning
If you are thinking of resigning, you should contact this office immediately before you do so, to explore your options in the safest possible way for you. 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.