There has been a great deal of discussion lately in the media, in Congress and in general about the minimum wage. President Obama recently announced that he will soon seek to raise the minimum wage via executive order for workers associated with federal contract jobs. In addition, many individuals and organizations are pushing for a significant hike to the minimum wage in general.
But what about that other all-important wage issue of gender equity? President Obama acknowledged that women continue to suffer from an unjust and unequal pay gap in the American workforce, yet little is being done to address this issue beyond individually filed wage and hour claims.
Statistics recently released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that female workers in some states have more reason to file these claims than others. While the average American female worker now makes an average of 80.9 cents on the dollar that males make for the same work performed, female workers in Wyoming earn an average of 65.5 cents for every dollar that men earn for the same work.
Across the nation, the pay gap that women experience varies wildly by state and by the industries that they are employed in. As a result, it is important for women experiencing a pay gap between their own salary and men’s salaries (when men are employed doing the same work) to speak with an experienced employment law attorney. Depending on your circumstances, filing a wage and hour claim may help you right the situation for yourself and other women in similar situations.
Source: Stateline, “Size of Gender Pay Gap Varies By State, Job,” Susan Milligan, Jan. 23, 2014