“I earned a Masters’ degree and Doctorate and the men who do my job still earn more money than me,” - a present day women’s lament heard among professional women in all occupations.
It is demoralizing to women who have given their time, paid extensive money and frequently gone into debt, and made numerous other personal sacrifices to achieve a higher education, that it has not been beneficially for them financially in terms of being on salary par with men.
Higher education for women does not close the pay gap relative to men for women of all educational levels.
Women who are high school graduates with no college education only earn 76.2% of what men who are high school graduates without a college education earns according to 2020 annual averages released in government statistics.
The pay disparity between the sexes for full-time pay and salary female workers, increases with the level of a woman’s higher education.
Women who have some college credit or earned an associate degree who are full-time wage and salary workers, earn only 75.9% of the median usual weekly earnings relative to males earn who have a comparable education.
Females with a bachelor’s degree or higher earn even less relative to males with similar education. Women who have achieved a bachelor’s degree or higher who are full-time wage and salary workers, earn only 75.4% of the median usual weekly earnings that males earn who have achieved a bachelor’s degree or higher degree.
If you a woman who is doing substantially the same job as your male co-workers but are paid less, then you may have a claim for discrimination under the Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act.
You do not have to suffer sexual harassment to bring a sex discrimination claim under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.
Illegal disparity in pay without any harassment constitutes illegal discrimination and harm to you, a woman, in all aspects of your life and family. The Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act has been incorporated into the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. This Act awards trebles damages to a plaintiff who is illegally discriminated against in pay because of sex (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, with some exceptions, if the workers are doing substantially similar job functions, even when the titles differ.
If you quit your job, you may lose right to prevail in a lawsuit
If you quit your job, you may lose right to prevail in a lawsuit. If you are thinking of quitting, or you think you will be fired, you should know that you may lose your right to prevail in a lawsuit unless you first take certain legally required measures to preserve your job while you are still employed. If you are thinking of quitting, or think you will be fired, you should contact this office immediately to discuss your options in the safest way for you.
Statistics prove that employees who quit their employment have an extremely lower rate of prevailing in a lawsuit than employees who were terminated. This is because if an employee quits, the former employee will have to prove what is known in legal terms as a “constructive discharge” which is a very high threshold to prove.
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. I am an aggressive and compassionate employment law attorney who is experienced in successfully representing persons who were subjected to unequal pay, harassment, discrimination and retaliation in the workplace and/or were fired, and am successful in recovering money to compensate them.
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.