While equal pay laws used to require employers in New York to provide equal pay for equal work, this is no longer the case. New York law now requires employers to provide equal pay for “substantially similar” work, and the federal Equal Pay Act has been interpreted as requiring equal pay for “substantially equal” work as well. With this in mind, when can (and should) you file an equal pay claim?
To begin, it is important to note that New York’s equal pay law is substantially broader than the federal Equal Pay Act. While the federal Equal Pay Act applies strictly to sex-based pay discrimination, New York’s equal pay law prohibits employers from making pay-related decisions, “because of sex, race, religion, national origin, age, disability, or other protected characteristics.” Although other federal laws—including Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)—also prohibit pay discrimination, these laws only apply to employers with certain minimum numbers of employees.
Defining “Substantially Similar” Work (and Other Key Terms) for Purposes of an Equal Pay Claim
With this in mind, we will focus primarily on what constitutes “substantially similar” work under New York’s equal pay law (while the relevant principles under federal law are largely similar, there are some key differences as well). Under Section 194 of the New York State Labor Law:
“No employee with status within one or more protected class or classes shall be paid a wage at a rate less than the rate at which an employee without status within the same protected class or classes in the same establishment is paid for: (a) equal work on a job the performance of which requires equal skill, effort and responsibility, and which is performed under similar working conditions, or (b) substantially similar work, when viewed as a composite of skill, effort, and responsibility, and performed under similar working conditions . . . .”
If we look at this closely, there are a handful of key terms that play an important role in determining employees’ legal rights in New York, including:
“Protected Class”
As we mentioned above, New York’s equal pay law does not strictly prohibit sex-based pay discrimination. Instead, it prohibits employers from engaging in pay discrimination with respect to any employee in any “protected class.” Under Section 194 of the New York State Labor Law, protected classes include, “age, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military status, sex, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, familial status, marital status, or domestic violence victim status.”
“The Same Establishment”
New York’s equal pay law applies to employees who work in “the same establishment.” However, this term is misleading, as the law does not strictly apply to employees who work in the same physical location. Rather, under Section 194, employees work in “the same establishment” if they, “work for the same employer at workplaces located in the same geographical region, no larger than a county, taking into account population distribution, economic activity, and/or the presence of municipalities.”
“Equal Work”
While New York’s equal pay law entitles employees to equal pay for substantially similar work (subject to the exceptions discussed below), it also makes clear that employees who perform “equal work” remain covered under the law as well. If two employees who work in the same establishment have jobs that, “require[] equal skill, effort and responsibility, and [are] performed under similar working conditions,” then their employer cannot pay them unequally unless one of the exceptions discussed below applies.
“Substantially Similar Work”
As discussed above, a key feature of New York’s equal pay law is that it applies to employees who perform “substantially similar” work, even if their jobs are not identical. Under Section 194, determining whether two employees perform substantially similar work involves assessing factors such as:
- The level of skill required to perform their respective jobs
- The level of effort required to perform their respective jobs
- Whether the employees have similar levels of responsibility
- Whether the employees have similar working conditions
Section 194 states that determining whether equal pay is required involves examining the “composite” of these factors. In other words, to determine whether the law applies, it is necessary to consider the totality of the circumstances surrounding the relevant employees’ employment. If, taken as a whole, these factors make clear that two employees serve in similar roles, then they are generally entitled to equal pay under the law.
As you may have noticed, this list of factors does not include the employees’ job titles. Employers cannot use different job titles to justify pay discrepancies between otherwise similarly situated employees. If you perform substantially similar work to your coworker, you are generally entitled to equal pay even if you and your coworker have different job titles.
When Employers in New York Can Offer Unequal Pay for Substantially Similar Work
Importantly, while employees who perform substantially similar work are generally entitled to equal pay under Section 194, there are exceptions. Specifically, the law allows employers to make pay decisions based on the following factors:
- Seniority systems
- Merit systems
- Systems based on quantity or quality of protection
- Education, training, experience and other “bona fide” factors
However, employers cannot use these factors as pretexts for pay discrimination. In other words, if your employer is discriminating against you, it doesn’t matter if your employer is also using (or purporting to use) a seniority or merit-based system. With this in mind, if you have reason to believe that you may have an equal pay claim, it will be worth talking to an attorney to find out if you have grounds to take legal action.
Do You Have an Equal Pay Claim in New York? Contact Us for a Confidential Consultation
Do you have questions about your right to equal pay in New York? If so, we invite you to get in touch. To schedule a confidential consultation with an experienced New York pay discrimination lawyer at Bell Law Group, call us at 516-280-3008 or contact us online today.
