Wage Discrimination and Comparable Worth: A Legal Perspective
Isabelle Katz Pinzler; Deborah Ellis
Journal of Social Issues 45(4): 51-65
1989
ISSN/ISBN: 0022-4537 DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1989.tb02359.xDocument Number: 410674
Federal law, as currently written, is theoretically capable of redressing widespread sex- and race-based wage discrimination. However, courts are not now applying these laws in ways that will attain that goal. In legal terms, comparable worth does not describe a legal problem or a theory of liability. The problem is sex- and race-based wage discrimination, and the theories of liability are classic employment discrimination theories. Comparable worth studies may be used as part of the proof that wage discrimination exists, and wages based upon the comparable worth of jobs may be ordered as a remedy if plaintiffs prove discrimination. This article discusses several ways to close the gap between courts' current approach and the law's potential to change wage inequities.