Can Geography Still Justify Gender-Based Pay Disparity?

Law360 By Daniela Porat
August 18, 2021

Cost of living variation is a valid justification for gender-based pay disparities, but the recent revelation that Google plans to cut pay for remote workers in less costly areas ups the…

                            *             *            *

Menaka Fernando, a partner at worker-side firm Outten & Golden LLP, said that while employers can justifiably adjust compensation based on geography, they might open a Pandora’s box if they stray from such an analysis and penalize workers for personal choices. “I think it’s important for employers to have consistency in how they pay employees and have certain pay scales for certain jobs and certain levels of experience and try to eliminate bias from these decisions to begin with,” she said. “That’s when you know pay disparities begin to surface and historical pay differences are perpetuated.