Fair Pay Audits Can Help In The Event Of Litigation

The pay gap between men and woman persists even though the federal Equal Pay Act has been on the books for more than 50 years, state and local laws have been passed, and lawsuits alleging pay disparities continue to be filed. “The pressure on corporate leaders and in-house counsel to comply is immense,” write Denise M. Visconti and Aaron D. Crews in this Today’s General Counsel article. “The question is how.” One of the best ways, they write, is to conduct a fair pay audit, a kind of systematic analysis that will determine if there are pay disparities, and if so whether or not they are justifiable by legitimate business considerations. The writers discuss how these audits should and should not be carried out, noting among other considerations the importance of insuring they’re done in a way that preserves privilege. A fair pay audit, they conclude, is an effective way to both reduce the likelihood of litigation and, in the event that a lawsuit is filed or threatened, to strengthen a company’s position and focus its discovery efforts.