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Unequal Pay
I am a young woman who works in a fairly popular higher-end retail store. It has recently come to my attention that a male counterpart who was hired at the same time as me and has the same job title earns 20 cents more than I do. I know it's a fairly small discrepancy, but to me, it's the principal of the thing. I want to have this matter addressed, but I'm afraid of confrontation and I don't want to rock to boat or cause my manager to lose her job. What do I do?
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Their just happens to be a Federal Law that covers this. It is called the Equal Pay act, you can read more about it in the following URL.
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location).
It may seem like 20 cents is not a big deal, though over a 40 hour week and 52 weeks it amounts to over $400. To me that is serious money.
Getting your manager in trouble is not the problem. We are all cautioned not to disclose what we are being paid for that is something that is generally negotiated at time of hire and can be based on many factors. The equal pay act does not take in to consideration that someone with more work history is more valuable than someone with less therefore maybe worth paying more for or cost more in pay to hire.
We are cautioned not to talk about what we are being paid because situations such as yours arise form them. If anyone can be in trouble for your knowledge that this person is paid more than you it is the person who informed you.
In any case you have remedy at the bar as it is called by taking this matter to court if you so please. You cannot be fired for doing so and by filing a claim with the EEOC they will represent you generally at no charge.
The other thing you can do is talk to your manager and ask why you are not paid the same. If you are given some sort of flaky answer you have the option of advising her of the Equal Pay act at that time.
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You have to speak to your manager about it.
Don't go in, all guns blazing. Do it calmly, and make it look casual.
Just be all "I was speaking to John (or change it as you would), and he was saying that he earns $xxxxx. He does the same job as me, but i Only get paid $yyyyy? I'm sure it's just a mistake, but could you check that out?"
Something along those lines.
If your manager sorts it out quickly, and properly, then they won't lose their job. If they don't do anything about it, then you may have to talk to someone else, higher up.
You don't have to make it awkward or weird, if you make it sound casual.
In the end, you have to make a judgement. Would you rather get paid 20% less than a man who does the same job as you through no fault of your own, or would you rather not make a tiny fuss about it.
Good luck
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