Pay Discrimination

Employment Lawyers in Bergen County Helping Employees Facing Pay Discrimination

Pay discrimination can be hard to spot while you are living it. Many employees never see the full picture because coworkers’ salaries are treated like secrets, job titles do not match job duties, and employers use vague explanations like “market rate” or “experience” to justify differences in compensation without providing any real support. The result is that people can spend years doing substantially similar work for less pay, simply because of who they are.

New Jersey law prohibits employers from paying you less because of a protected characteristic such as sex, race, color, age, disability, pregnancy, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, or another legally-protected trait. If you suspect you were underpaid for an unlawful reason, it can be valuable to get an evaluation of your options before you assume nothing can be done.

If you want to speak with a New Jersey pay discrimination attorney, you can contact Rabner Baumgart Ben-Asher & Nirenberg, P.C. at (201) 777-2250 or reach out online to schedule a consultation.

What Counts as Pay Discrimination in New Jersey

Pay discrimination includes, but is not limited to, a lower base salary. It also can involve unequal treatment in other forms of compensation such as bonuses, commissions, overtime opportunities, shift differentials, benefits, equity or incentive pay. In many workplaces, those “extras” make up a large portion of what an employee earns.

Pay discrimination can show up in different ways, including:

• A lower starting salary compared to others performing substantially similar work
• Smaller raises over time that compound into a large gap
• Being assigned a worse territory or lesser accounts that dimmish your commissions Unequal overtime assignments or shift opportunities that reduce your earnings
• Being excluded from, or receiving a disproportionately smaller share of, a bonus pool
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The legal analysis often turns on the actual work performed. Job titles matter far less than your actual job duties.

Pay gaps also can be reinforced by inconsistent job leveling, subjective performance reviews, and unequal access to advancement paths. Many employees realize what happened only after a coworker shares information, a job posting reveals a salary range, or a manager makes an offhand comment that shows the decision was not truly based on merit. If you notice that people with comparable roles, responsibilities, and performance are paid more, it may be worth looking closely at whether the difference has a defensible explanation or points toward unlawful discrimination.

Why New Jersey’s Equal Pay Protections Are Strong

New Jersey has one of the most employee-protective pay equity statutes in the country: the Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act. This law goes beyond older equal pay concepts that focus only on gender. It addresses pay disparities across legally protected categories, and is designed to discourage employers from relying on unjustified pay practices.

In practical terms, the law can shift the burden of proof to the employer to justify a pay difference. If you can show you were paid less than others performing substantially similar work, then your employer may need to prove the disparity is based on legitimate factors and not discriminatory ones.

The Equal Pay Act also allows employees to recover damages for a longer period than many people expect. In most cases, a pay disparity is not just a one-time event. Rather, it is a continuing harm that builds with each paycheck. Under New Jersey law, you typically can recover damages for unequal pay that occurred as long as six years before you file a lawsuit.

You Do Not Need Perfect Information to Have a Claim

Employees often hesitate to explore a claim because they do not have access to payroll data, or do not know exactly what their coworkers earn. That is normal. Most employers keep that information private.

An employment lawyer often can evaluate potential pay discrimination based on what you do know, including your job responsibilities, performance history, the duties of coworkers in similar roles, and any indicators of compensation levels such as pay bands, offer letters, or internal or external job postings. In some cases, a pattern may become clearer once you have filed a lawsuit and formal legal tools are available to request records from your employer.

Your Rights When Discussing Pay

Many people worry they will get in trouble for asking coworkers about pay. In New Jersey, employees have protections against retaliation related to pay transparency. If you are asking question to try to learn whether you have been the victim of pay discrimination, your efforts should not become a reason for discipline.

Retaliation can include termination, demotion, reduced hours, negative evaluations, intimidation, or sudden changes in job expectations after you raise concerns. If you experienced pay discrimination and then faced retaliation for asking questions or making a complaint, that can become a separate legal claim.

Steps That Can Help if You Suspect Pay Discrimination

If you think you were underpaid for an unlawful reason, it can help to gather information while it is still available to you. Documentation often matters in these cases.

Consider saving your offer letters, pay stubs, bonus plans, commission plans, performance reviews, job descriptions, and job postings describing pay ranges or job levels for your position.

You do not need to confront your employer to begin protecting yourself. You can start by organizing the facts and getting legal advice on whether your situation fits a pay discrimination claim.

Contact a New Jersey Pay Discrimination Attorney

If you believe you were paid less for performing substantially similar work because of your gender, race, disability, pregnancy, age, or another protected characteristic, Rabner Baumgart Ben-Asher & Nirenberg, P.C. can help you understand your rights and options under New Jersey law. To schedule a consultation, please contact us online or call (201) 777-2250. We offer consultations in person, by telephone, and by Zoom.