Yesterday’s Advisor featured tips for avoiding wage/hour suits; today, specific guidance on gender discrimination in compensation, plus an introduction to the very practical, time-saving 10-Minute HR Trainer.
Without quite realizing it, employers can easily create situations that seem to smack of gender discrimination. And once there’s the appearance of discrimination, the lawyers will be looking for a settlement.
To minimize the risk of EPA and Title VII wage discrimination claims, review your wage-setting practices based on the following strategies:
1. Be sure any salary guidelines are based on objective criteria such as education and skill level, going market rates, and performance level. Employers without guidelines will have a tough time refuting claims of discrimination.
2. Put any merit, seniority, productivity bonus, or commission programs in writing. Clearly describe the guidelines for the program and provide orientation training on the mechanics of the program to all employees whose salaries will be affected by the program. As long as employees perceive the system to be fair, they are not likely to complain or sue.
3. Integrate gender-segregated jobs to the highest degree possible by making a concerted effort to recruit and hire qualified candidates of both genders in every job classification, particularly those classifications that are normally dominated by a particular gender group. Gender-segregated jobs make an easy target for plaintiffs’ lawyers.
Implement a formal job evaluation system that is valid and reliable and follow it carefully. Be sure to document any compensation decisions that are made on the basis of the evaluation.
Yes, you do have the budget and time to train managers and supervisors with BLR’s® 10-Minute HR Trainer. Try it at no cost or risk. Get details.
5. Ensure that any subjective elements of performance ratings, such as “initiative,” are defined by providing concrete examples of what the element means. Similarly, when documenting a rating, offer concrete examples of employee behavior.
6. Document the reasons for any non-performance-based deviations from normal salary structures (e.g., a retention raise, sign-on bonus, etc.) in the affected employee’s compensation file at the time the deviation occurs. Contemporaneous documentation will generally be accepted as legitimate, so be careful to date documents. Documentation made after the fact carries less impact and may be seen as falsification.
7. Conduct periodic audits of compensation practices to determine if gender groups have to be treated differently, and to clarify that such disparities are based on legitimate non-gender-based factors and supported by objective documentation.
From gender-based discrimination to overtime, managers and supervisors can indeed seem clueless about wage/hour issues. And there’s only one way to prevent their expensive compensation shenanigans—train, train, train.
What, no time for training? We’ve solved that with easy-to-manage program that lets you train in discrete, 10-minute chunks. A program that’s easy for you to deliver and that requires little time from busy schedules.
No budget? If you’re like most companies in these tight budget days, you will like that it is reasonable in cost.
We asked our editors for a system that trains in a minimum amount of time with maximum effect, they came back with BLR’s unique 10-Minute HR Trainer.
Train your line managers with BLR’s 10-Minute HR Trainer. There won’t be time for classroom boredom. Try it for free.
As its name implies, this product trains managers and supervisors in critical HR skills in as little as 10 minutes for each topic. 10-Minute HR Trainer offers these features:
Trains in 50 key HR topics under all major employment laws, including manager and supervisor responsibilities, and how to legally carry out managerial actions from hiring to termination. (See a complete list of topics below.)
Uses the same teaching sequence master teachers use. Every training unit includes an overview, bullet points on key lessons, a quiz, and a handout to reinforce the lesson later.
Completely prewritten and self-contained. Each unit comes as a set of reproducible documents. Just make copies or turn them into overheads, and you’re done. (Take a look at a sample lesson below.)
Updated continually. As laws change, your training needs to do so as well. 10-Minute HR Trainer provides new lessons and updated information every 90 days, along with a monthly Training Forum newsletter, for as long as you are in the program.
Works fast. Each session is so focused that there’s not a second’s waste of time. Your managers are in and out almost before they can look at the clock, yet they remember small details even months later.
Evaluate It at No Cost for 30 Days
We’ve arranged to make 10-Minute HR Trainer available to our readers for a 30-day, in-office, no-cost trial. Review it at your own pace and try some lessons with your colleagues. If it’s not for you, return it at our expense. Click here and we’ll set you up with 10-Minute HR Trainer.
Download product sample
Download table of contents
Download Training Forum Newsletter
Remember–to compare pay rates between male and female workers, the employees must work in jobs that require equal skill, effort, and responsibility under similar working conditions.