Pay Equity

Pay equity is a top issue for today’s business owners. Have you ever wondered how your organization measures up on pay equity? The Equal Pay Act of 1963 guarantees employees make the same amount for equal work, regardless of sex. Despite this law, as of 2016, women still earn 79 cents to every dollar earned by a man, according to the Joint Economic Committee of the United States Congress.

Most business owners created this culture of bias and pay discrepancy without intending it. The most common culprit is asking candidates what they historically were paid and what their desired salary is during the recruiting process. Paying employees what they ask for certainly doesn’t seem to be a discriminatory practice. However, the unintended consequence of doing so is that women and minorities have historically been paid less, will ask for less money when questioned and therefore end up being paid less for roles their male counterparts fill.

The business owners that have intentions of bringing equality into their workforce face several challenging questions, such as, “How do I identify and fix the problem” and “How can I afford the cost and potential exposure of this analysis?”

Even if data can be gathered easily, business owners must then focus on how to remediate the discrepancy. Aligning pay across all employees has several challenges. The obvious hurdle is the cost to flatline all employees within one job class. Research shows that even once pay has been equalized it must be continually monitored or will quickly fall out of balance.

Small businesses face even further challenges when the traditional recommendation such as onsite childcare, flexible schedules and large groups of employees in one pay grade are not practical based on the size of the organization.

To assist all business types with these equal pay challenges, Lever1 has created EqualEyes. This program will:

1. Identify and Analyze Employee Pay

·Refine org chart with pay grades by title

·Identify all employees and correlating job description within pay grade

·Analyze total compensation within pay grade

2. Equalize pay within your organization

·Draft, review or revise company policy on equal pay

·Schedule how and when pay streamlining can be rolled out

·Review compliance and risk implications

3. Continually monitor for equality

·Quarterly review of pay grades

·Monitor recruiting practices

·Train managers on unconscious bias

It’s time to take a deep dive into your workforce compensation data and Lever1 can help. Contact us today to learn how EqualEyes is helping business owners ensure pay equity.

Consult your HR expert at Lever1 today to ensure your business is equipped for the inevitable employment issues before they arise.

Email us or call 816-994-1300.