Massachusetts Equal Pay Act MEPA Webinar Massachusetts Equal

Massachusetts Equal Pay Act (MEPA) Webinar

Massachusetts Equal Pay Act • Signed into law on August 1, 2016. • Effective July 1, 2018. • Attorney General’s Guidance published on March 1, 2018 “No employer shall discriminate in any way on the basis of gender in the payment of wages, or pay any person in its employ a salary or wage rate less than the rates paid to its employees of a different gender for comparable work…” | |

Who is covered? • All employers in Massachusetts (except the federal government) • Any employer outside Massachusetts with employees whose “primary place of work” is in Massachusetts • Any employee with a “primary place of work” in Massachusetts, even if the employee lives outside Massachusetts (telecommuting to a Mass. worksite) • Includes full-time, part-time, seasonal, per-diem and temporary employees | |

What is “Comparable Work”? • Work that requires substantially similar: • Skill, effort and responsibility • And is performed under similar working conditions Ø Skill: experience, training, education, and ability Ø Effort: physical and mental exertion Ø Responsibility: discretion, decision-making and accountability. Amount of supervision received. Ø Working Conditions: environmental, shifts • “Substantially similar” means all of these factors must be “alike to a great or significant extent, but are not necessarily identical in all respects”

What is included in “wages”? • Broadly defined • Includes all forms of remuneration - commissions, bonuses, profit sharing, deferred compensation, paid time off, expense accounts, car and gas allowances, retirement plans, insurance, and other benefits • Employees performing comparable work must have the same opportunity to participate in benefit programs on the same terms, irrespective of gender.

What are permissible reasons for pay differences? Variations in wages shall be allowed if based upon: 1. A system that rewards seniority with the employer; provided, however, that time spent on leave due to a pregnancy-related condition and protected parental, family and medical leave, shall not reduce seniority; 2. A merit system, which rewards higher performers; 3. A system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production, sales or revenue; 4. The geographic location in which a job is performed; 5. Education, training or experience to the extent such factors are reasonably related to the particular job in question; or 6. Travel, if the travel is a regular and necessary condition of the particular job.

What are not permissible reasons for pay differences? Variations in wages shall not be allowed if based upon: • Changes in a labor market or other market factors • Education, training and experience not necessary to perform the job (only those skills required to perform the job, not necessarily all the skills the employee may have)

UMMS Recruitment & Interview Process Don’t’s (MEPA Compliant) • Employers are prohibited from seeking the wage or salary history including a broad classification of benefits information from an applicant or from their current or former employer. (The applicant may voluntarily disclose this information, however, this information should Not be documented). • Employers may Not prohibit employees from inquiring about, discussing, or disclosing their own wages or another employee’s wages to another employee or a third party. • Managers should not disclose or share employee’s salary information with other employees. • Employers may not retaliate against any employee who exercises his or her rights under the law. • *** Reminder – The employer is prohibited from asking candidates about current or past salary history. Do Not engage in salary discussions with candidates. | |

UMMS Recruitment & Interview Process Do’s (MEPA Compliant) • The UMMS Employment Application, Applicant Tracking System, Interview Checklist, Pre-Hire Employment Forms, Interview Training Materials, Screening Questions and Recruitment and Selection Policies have removed All references to current or past salary history inquiries. • Review and exclude any reference to current or past salary history or benefit information on any personal or department interview or hiring forms or interview questions. • A “Target Compensation Range” will be pre-identified for each position. • The UMMS employment application requests the candidate’s “Desired Salary”. • Continue to interview and assess candidates based on their education, training, experience /skill and abilities as related to the position. • The Talent Specialist will continue to work with Hiring Managers and Compensation staff to develop job offers and comply with the MEPA law. (Do Not discuss or document candidate’s current salary or history including benefits). • UMMS continues to use and maintain our internal “Employer Qualifications” data to set hiring pay for candidates and employees to maintain equity and comply with the law. • All Hiring Managers, Interview Team Members, Interview Committees and Human Resources staff need to review a mandatory pre-recorded training webinar explaining the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act before they interview and or interact with candidates for UMMS. The webinar will be distributed directly to the UMMS Management Team, Human Resources Department and available for Interview Team Members and Interview Committees to access. | |

Employer obligations under MEPA • Adjust salaries or wages so employees performing comparable work are paid equally • Cannot reduce the wages of an employee to comply with the law • No requirement that employers pay employees retroactively to compensate for historical disparities

MEPA Resources Links to MEPA information: MEPA FAQs Contacts: Maryann Sanders UMMS Human Resources Director, Compensation 508 -856 -3950 Steve Stowe 508 -856 -4394 UMMS Human Resources Director, Talent Acquisition

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