August

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently enacted a law that prior pay cannot be used to justify wage differentials between employees under the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA).

There are four exceptions to the rule, however: an employer's use of a seniority system, an employer's use of a merit system, an employer's use of a quantity-based system and "any factor other than sex."

Rizo v. Yovino perfectly emphasizes the importance of the EPA.Aileen Rizo, an employee of the Fresno County Office of Education, brought suit against the superintendent of schools, claiming, among other things, that the county was violating the Equal Pay Act of 1963,    After the Fresno County Office of Education used a female employee's prior pay to explain why it paid her less than men who performed equal work, the Ninth Circuit ruled that the employer would no longer be using previous pay to justify unequal wages under "any factor other than sex."

Although it is legal to base a hiring decision on the results of a background check, doing so could lead to a disparate treatment claim or disparate impact claim.

Businesses are encouraged to implement a written policy that sets forth what background findings will be disqualifying and under what conditions. Under the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), employment discrimination is prohibited on the basis of characteristics like race, sex, religion and national origin.

This includes first providing a copy of the report which was used to make an adverse employment decision before the action is taken and after a decision has been made, informing the applicant orally, electronically or in writing about the findings.

Ten states, the District of Columbia, and the cities of Chicago, New York City and Philadelphia have passed laws restricting the use of credit reports used by employers for employment purposes.

Bills also have been proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate regarding consumer credit information and employment. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), however, has expressed concern with employers who use criminal history screening and credit checks in their hiring decisions because it is believed that relying on this information creates a disparate impact on certain minority groups.

Given the EEOC 's stand on the issue, along with the Fair Credit Reporting Act 's (FCRA) prohibitions, as well, employers should not directly or indirectly request credit information and|or conduct credit checks unless required to do so under state or federal law or unless an exemption is met.