Pay Equity

Pay equity is at the forefront of legal issues facing employers today. New equal pay, transparency, and reporting laws within the United States and across the globe present new risks and opportunities for employers.

Seyfarth’s dedicated Pay Equity Group offers a strategic and data-centered approach to pay equity compliance. Our attorneys, in-house labor economists and data analysts make complex statistical analyses simple to understand. Seyfarth’s deep knowledge of the pay laws and commitment to innovation gives us the tools to help you operationalize pay equity programs and minimize the risk of litigation. If disputes cannot be avoided, Seyfarth leads in managing complex bet-the-company pay equity claims and single-plaintiff litigation.

HOW WE HELP

Seyfarth has more than 20 years of experience handling all aspects of pay equity issues, including counseling employers on best practices across the globe.

• We conduct proactive assessments of compensation using a privileged framework.
• We work with employers to craft appropriate remedial measures to mitigate future risks that have been identified during the proactive analysis.
• We conduct high-profile investigations related to complaints of pay discrimination.
• We work with employers interested in communicating to customers, communities, and employees that they care about pay equality.
• When necessary, we bring our unique experience to defend employers in high-stakes pay equity litigation.
• Seyfarth also spearheads employer advocacy around pay equity. Our unparalleled thought leadership and advocacy has included comments and testimony before the US House of Representatives, the US Senate, and various administrative agencies such as the EEOC and OFCCP.

THE SEYFARTH EXPERIENCE

We combine our legal skill with that of our in-house labor economists and data professionals to ensure a robust analysis predicated on mitigating and assessing legal risk. As a result, many of the most sensitive analyses performed by our teams are protected by attorney-client privilege. We maintain robust data security protocols and have Seyfarth’s suite of operational tools at our disposal. Beyond the logistics, our approach to pay equity is both forward-looking and pragmatic. We put guardrails in place to promote consistent pay practices and are nimble and creative in developing remediation solutions. We are sensitive to the power of the media, including social media, to affect a company’s brand and interface with its values. Ultimately, we seek to understand a company’s culture and how pay operates within it. Our knowledgeable, forward-thinking and data-focused approach also supports our litigation defense. Seyfarth defends complex pay equity litigation and conducts investigations across the country and also has the efficiency to handle more routine pay equity investigations and claims.

We understand effective representation requires a deep understanding of evolving legal trends both in the United States and around the world. We are dedicated to continually developing our knowledge base, as evidenced by the materials we publish, including our 50-State Pay Equity Survey and our annual compendia of the year’s developments in the field of pay equity discrimination litigation.