Pay discrimination in the workplace - WWYD?!

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watergirl

Thu, Oct 26 2017, 8:29 am

Op and others talking about pay discrimination - are you all working in frum workplaces?

amother

Green

Thu, Oct 26 2017, 8:31 am

amother wrote:

Nobody should be saying this is illegal when you do not have all the facts. OP says they have the same job/ responsibilities. How do we know he isn't better/ faster? How do we know he hasn't been with the company longer? Was hired with more years experience and thus just naturally coming into the company with a higher starting salary. Maybe OP has missed a lot of days dealing with family stuff/ maternity illness. Maybe this guy is getting a higher salary because he declined insurance or other benefits. So many things we don't know and a very hard case to make.

OP, I wouldn't mention it but I would ask for a raise if you feel you are deserving.

I didn't know I could use that for salary/raise negotiation. Thanks for the tip!!

amother

Mistyrose

Thu, Oct 26 2017, 9:45 am

watergirl wrote:

Op and others talking about pay discrimination - are you all working in frum workplaces?

YES!

amother

Mistyrose

Thu, Oct 26 2017, 9:47 am

amother wrote:

I had that. Found out s/o hired 2 years after me was getting paid more than me. Same job description, but I wasn't allowed to do certain parts of it cuz I'm female. I went to the boss and protested. I was given the raise to equal them and a bonus to apologize/make up for some of the 'loss' I had by not getting paid the same.

How did you find out what he was making?

amother

Mistyrose

Thu, Oct 26 2017, 9:50 am

amother wrote:

It's illegal but it's widely done just as discrimination against older workers is illegal but widely done.

You can sue - I did - but get your ducks in a row in terms of performance evaluation and any other stealth information you can get like resumes of your co-workers and what projects they are doing. Whatever you do, stay off the company emails so you don't leave any trace of what you might be planning.

Set up a meeting with an attorney - the meeting is well worth it in terms of specific advice on how to protect yourself.

Once you have actually filed a claim with the EEOC or simultaneously served them with a lawsuit, you are protected because if they fire you, they are going to almost certainly be faced with a judgment for retaliation.

It isn't a pleasant experience and obviously you're burning your bridges with that employer which is why I advice spending a bit of money to seek counsel from an experienced employment lawyer.

Do u feel it was it worth suing?
Like you said... burning bridges and it's uncomfortable to sue a frum person

watergirl

Thu, Oct 26 2017, 10:01 am

amother wrote:

YES!

Ahhhh. Thats mistake #1.

amother

Mistyrose

Thu, Oct 26 2017, 10:03 am

watergirl wrote:

Ahhhh. Thats mistake #1.

Are you saying that it's a mistake to work for company run by frum ppl?

watergirl

Thu, Oct 26 2017, 10:12 am

amother wrote:

Are you saying that it's a mistake to work for company run by frum ppl?

In some respects, sadly, yes. There are benefits, sure. Many. I have been vocal on imamother before about the maany many drawbacks, and salary is one of them. They get away with whatever shtick they can. I’m not going to get into the pay discrimination in other forms in frum offices here (married “women” gets more than single “girls”, more pay when you have more kids, ect)...
The best jobs that I’ve ever had were in non frum and/or not jewish workplaces. Sad. And true.

BasMelech120

Thu, Oct 26 2017, 11:23 am

There are laws against pay discrimination. You can get law enforcement involved.

amother

Lilac

Thu, Oct 26 2017, 12:24 pm

First step would be to request a pay raise. Do some homework about your marketability and what others are getting paid in other companies for the same work that you do. I would not mention the knowledge of your co-worker's salary. I personally would not consider a lawsuit. If I wasn't happy with my pay and I really thought that it was below what others are getting paid elsewhere than I would look to work somewhere else. What do you gain from a lawsuit? Would you really want to work for a place after you have sued or threatened to sue them? They would never forget it.

amother

Lilac

Thu, Oct 26 2017, 12:32 pm

I have to preface the following with the fact that I work for a professional not frum company:

I wanted to add that something similar happened to me that I inadvertently saw two of my co-workers salaries but one is female and one if male. So it wasn't a discrimination issue, just a factor of me being there a long time and them recently coming on and negotiating a better deal. It was a wake up call for me to start discussing salary increases more with my boss and to challenge my current salary. So now she knows it is one of my concerns and if she values me and wants to keep me here she has to start giving me better raises. I have seen an impact over the past couple of years since I had my first discussion. Every annual performance/compensation discussion we make sure to talk about how I compare to the market. Since it is a big firm they actually provide her with this information.

To answer for my own experience of how I inadvertently saw the other salaries: My boss sent a file with our salaries to all of us. She was supposed to wipe that info clean before passing on the data. She actually has done it twice!

MagentaYenta

Thu, Oct 26 2017, 1:21 pm

BasMelech120 wrote:

There are laws against pay discrimination. You can get law enforcement involved.

This is a civil and not a criminal issue.

amother

Orange

Sat, Oct 28 2017, 10:58 pm

amother wrote:

How did you find out what he was making?

He told me on his own.I didn't ask. And I personally never discuss my salary with anyone either. Except by boss of course.

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