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Answer: In the circumstances you’ve described, the answer is most likely yes, your company may do this. Although age discrimination is illegal, employers may rely on what the law calls “reasonable factors other than age” — including seniority — when making job decisions.
Can employers legally differentiate pay based on seniority?
Differences in pay are permitted when they are based on seniority, merit, quantity or quality of production. These are known as affirmative defenses and it is the employer’s responsibility to prove that they apply.
Does a company have to lay off by seniority?
There’s no law that requires an employer to make layoffs in order of seniority. However, if the more senior employees are over age 40, or are substantially older than the less senior employees who are not being laid off, there is a high risk of being hit with an age bias claim.
Is seniority in the workplace legal?
There is no law creating the seniority system. As such, while the seniority may seem discriminatory to some, as a policy it is legal. The exception would be if the seniority system was operated in a manner which caused discrimination on the basis of gender, race, religion, age and other protected classes.
Is it illegal to pay someone less for the same job?
The Equal Pay Act requires that men and women in the same workplace be given equal pay for equal work. The jobs need not be identical, but they must be substantially equal. If there is an inequality in wages between men and women, employers may not reduce the wages of either sex to equalize their pay.
Can you sue for unfair pay?
Sue (file a lawsuit against) your employer for pay discrimination. Under the federal Equal Pay Act and the California Fair Pay Act, you can go straight to court. You are not required to first file a charge with a government agency.
What are the three defenses for paying a different wage?
individual makes each of these showings, the defendant employer may avoid liability by proving that the wage disparity is justified by one of four affirmative defenses—that is, that the employer has set the challenged wages pursuant to “(1) a seniority system; (2) a merit system; (3) a system which measures earnings by.
What are my rights if my employer lays me off?
California does not have a law that requires employers to pay severance when they lay off employees. Employers are only required to pay severance if they have contractually agreed to do so. So unless your employer promised to pay you severance, you are not entitled to receive any compensation.
Can my employer lay me off and hire someone else?
Key takeaway: Employers can lay off employees and hire new employees simultaneously, as long as they do not use the guise of “layoffs” to terminate poor employees, only to refill those positions right away.
What are seniority rights?
Seniority is used as a means of gauging the relative status of one employee with respect to another based on length of service. As an employee’s seniority grows, he or she accrues certain rights and privileges. How exactly seniority is defined will differ from company to company.
Can I sue my company for laying me off?
If you are fired for any reason other than the ones specified in your contract, you can sue — even if your employer’s reason for letting you go was perfectly reasonable.
How does seniority rule work?
noun U.S. Politics. the custom in Congress providing for the assignment of a committee chairpersonship to that member of the majority party who has served on the committee the longest.
Does seniority matter in a non union workplace?
Nonunion Workplaces If seniority is used by nonunion employers as a basis for pay increases or promotions, it’s usually considered in addition to factors such as employee contributions, performance, experience, and job fit. Employers do not value senior employees who fail to contribute and create a dilemma.
Can you legally decrease someone’s pay?
If an employer cuts an employee’s pay without telling him, it is considered a breach of contract. Pay cuts are legal as long as they are not done discriminatorily (i.e., based on the employee’s race, gender, religion, and/or age). To be legal, a person’s earnings after the pay cut must also be at least minimum wage.
Can 2 employees doing the same job be paid differently?
There may be legitimate reasons for the pay disparity. But sometimes, there may not be, and a salary analysis may be advisable. Not only that, there could be legal issues involved, so an HR department’s response needs to be well-considered.
What constitutes a violation of the Equal Pay Act?
If an employer does not provide equal pay for equal work, then they may be in violation of the Equal Pay Act, and may be sued for discrimination. Some examples of EPA violations may include: Paying an employee less than another employee who performs the same work, based on that person’s gender.
How do I report unfair pay?
Call the LETF Public hotline anytime: 855 297 5322. Complete the Online Form / Spanish Form. Email us at letf@dir.ca.gov.However, if you are a current or former employee looking to: Claim unpaid wages. File a retaliation/discrimination complaint on behalf of yourself. Report a health/safety issue in the workplace.
What to do if you are being paid unfairly?
Under the Equal Pay Act, an employee must file a claim within two years from the date of the violation. If the violation is willful, then an employee has three years to file. Each paycheck that reflects unequal pay is considered a violation for the purpose of calculating the deadline for filing.
What is an unfair wage?
Unfair wages, also known as wage discrimination, is generally defined as the failure to fairly compensate employees for their work or in an amount that falls below the standard minimum wage. Unfair wage claims provide the basis of most employment law cases. Withholding a paycheck or underpaying an employee.
Can an employer disclose your salary without your permission?
In the United States, employers are not prohibited from double-checking job applicants’ quoted salary figures. Unless they’ve been issued a subpoena, U.S.-based employers are under no legal obligation to disclose any information about current or former employees.
Who decides what constitutes a fair wage?
The U.S. Department of Labor enforces the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which sets basic minimum wage and overtime pay standards. These standards are enforced by the Department’s Wage and Hour Division.
Can my employer disclose my salary to other companies?
The California law, unlike other laws, will also require employers, upon reasonable request, to provide the pay range for the applied-for position. In California, job applicants may voluntarily contribute information about their pay history.
