Midwest Sales, Inc. has a stated written policy by which all similarly situated
ID: 465751 • Letter: M
Question
Midwest Sales, Inc. has a stated written policy by which all similarly situated employees are to be paid the same salary. John Doe (a male), a Senior Executive Vice President for Sales and Marketing for Midwest’s ZONE A, is paid $100,000 a year by Midwest. Jane Roe (a female), a Senior Executive Vice President for Sales and Marketing for Midwest’s ZONE B, is paid $95,000 a year by Midwest. Jane has worked for Midwest two years longer than John. The description of John and Jane’s respective jobs are identical. What is most accurate statement concerning any legal challenge to the differential is pay between what Midwest pays John and Jane?
a) The pay difference is not unlawful and cannot be challenged because there is less than a 10% pay difference between what Midwest pays John and Jane.
b) The pay difference is unlawful, unless Midwest can establish some significant difference between Zone A and Zone B.
c) The pay difference is not unlawful and cannot be challenged in this instance because the “seniority” defense allows for different pay for men and women even though they may be performing “substantially the same job”.
d) The pay difference is unlawful, not because of the gender difference between John and Jane, but because Midwest is violating its own stated pay policy.
Explanation / Answer
Correct answer is option b) The pay difference is unlawful, unless Midwest can establish some significant difference between Zone A and Zone B.
Because the Equal Pay Act allows differences in wages if they are the result of -
Suppose if Midwest can establish that there is significant difference in the volume of sales in Zone A and Zone B and it is more challenging to handle Zone A; in that case the pay difference is lawful.