Mirror Mirror on the wall, Who’s the fairest of them all?

Starting this July 1, virtually all Massachusetts employers regardless of size must provide gender-based equal pay for equal work (regardless of disparity of titles) for almost everyone: full-time, part-time, seasonal, per diem– it doesn’t matter.

But the law, as explained by recent Attorney General guidance, provides a complete defense against claims for any employer which conducts a good-faith and reasonable self -evaluation of its pay practices within three years prior to any claim.  The purpose must be to uncover and remedy any pay disparities.  Sounds simple, but remember that if you find but do not remedy inequality then you have documented your own liability, and the report also may end up in the hands of  lawyers for employees or government investigators.

The good faith of any self-evaluation is by definition subjective.  Perhaps one way to get over that issue is to have the job done by a recognized outside party.  Larger employers may find that cost to be well worth it.  Whether such a look in one’s mirror will result in better insurance rates for employment discrimination coverage is not clear to me — but it should. It is something to ask your insurance company.