Los Angeles – Century City employment partner Michael Mandel commented in an April 24 Northern California Record story that the debate about whether employers can legally factor an employee’s pay history into decisions on current compensation is likely to escalate to the U.S. Supreme Court.
This issue has elicited differing opinions by federal courts of appeal, leaving employers to interpret wage laws under the Equal Pay Act, which requires that men and women be paid equally for the same amount of work, barring particular exceptions. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently reversed a lower-court opinion in favor of a former schoolteacher who claimed the Fresno County Office of Education paid her less money than her male colleagues.
In the article, Mandel said, “I think there is a good chance that it will go to the Supreme Court.”
“The 8th and 7th Circuits held differently and the split does augur a review,” he added, noting circuit courts have found that employers can take into account certain factors when considering compensation.