How can we prevent pay discrimination?

You can help prevent pay discrimination by basing all pay decisions on legitimate, job-related criteria. Here’s how to do that:

Establish a clear, written compensation strategy that defines pay ranges, job classifications, and criteria for starting pay, raises, and bonuses. These criteria often include performance, skill level, and tenure along with market data for each role.
Keep job descriptions current and ensure they accurately reflect the skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions of roles so that similarly situated positions can be identified and treated consistently.
Conduct regular pay audits to help identify unexplained disparities and correct them before they lead to allegations of pay discrimination.
Train everyone involved in hiring, promotions, and pay decisions on the importance of sticking to the company’s compensation strategy and pay structure, and avoid making decisions based on negotiation, pleading, salary history, or gut feelings.

This Q&A does not constitute legal advice and does not address state or local law.