Webinar on April 5 to Help Businesses Address Gender Pay-gap Issues
SPRINGFIELD — Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C. invites business owners, managers, and human-resource professionals to an informative webinar outlining ways to review compensation practices to address gender pay-gap issues and minimize legal liabilities. The webinar will be held Wednesday, April 5 from 1:30 to 3 p.m. and hosted by attorney Amelia Holstrom of Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C.
“The National Committee on Pay Equity has declared April 4, 2017 ‘National Equal Pay Day,’ and the time has never been better to look at how your organization determines employees’ pay rates and identify any gender or other disparities that could put you at legal risk,” Holstrom said.
The Department of Labor recently issued a final rule for government contractors directing them to eliminate secrecy about pay. The purpose of the rule is to help level the playing field when it comes to equal pay and eliminate discrimination, particularly with women who generally earn less on the dollar than their male counterparts.
The Department of Labor is not the only agency taking steps to eliminate pay disparities. Massachusetts passed pay-equity legislation in 2016 that, among other things, bars employers from screening applicants based on their past salary history. A similar regulation was passed by the City Council in Philadelphia. Although a pay-equity bill in New Jersey was vetoed by Gov. Chris Christie, the national trend appears to be toward pay-equity regulation.
Holstrom will discuss federal and various state laws relating to pay; the current status of pay-equity laws at the federal level, and how these laws and new developments are likely to affect organizations’ compliance obligations going forward; how organizations can examine and evaluate their own pay practices to determine if there are gender or other compensation gaps that need to be remedied; how sex discrimination and the gender gap in compensation can undermine the company, increase turnover, and erode trust; why transparency can be a good thing, and how to communicate effectively regarding wage determination; legal issues that can arise around pay disparities; and how to avoid a sex-discrimination lawsuit by getting the company’s compensation practices in order.
Those interested in registering for the course can do so online at HR Hero Store (click here) or by calling (800) 274-6774.
Holstrom has assisted employers in remaining union-free, represented clients at arbitrations, and defended employers against claims of discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and wrongful-termination claims, as well as actions arising under the Family Medical Leave Act and wage-and-hour law. In addition, she frequently provides counsel to management regarding litigation-avoidance strategies.
