Question

Why is it difficult to determine the amount of wage discrimination in the workplace?

Answer 1

Wage discrimination means paying someone less because of their gender, race, age, or religion. Paying an employee less because of a protected characteristic violates the law. For example, paying women less than men for the same work qualifies as wage discrimination. However, men can also be victims of wage discrimination if they receive lower pay because of their race, age, disability status, or another protected class.

Wage discrimination involves differential market wage payments for otherwise identical persons. Wage discrimination may occur because of prejudice (statistical discrimination), bigotry and nepotism (animus toward other-group persons and favoritism toward on-group persons), or because it enhances profitability (racism). An early work by Francis Y. Edgeworth in 1922 considered equal work for equal pay by sex, matching the marginal utility of the employer with the marginal disutility of the employee. This concept was accepted with some reservations and adjustments. Equal work means that the worker is indifferent between two tasks, and equal pay means that wage is equal to the marginal product of labor.

The amount of wage discrimination in the workplace determined by the following things

·        skill: measured by factors such as the experience, ability, education, and training required to perform the job. The critical issue is what skills are required for the job, not what skills the individual employees may have.

·        effort: the amount of physical or mental exertion needed to perform the job.

·        responsibility: the degree of accountability required in performing the job.

·        working conditions: encompasses two factors: (1) physical surroundings like temperature, fumes, and ventilation, and (2) hazards.

·        establishment: The prohibition against compensation discrimination under the EPA applies only to jobs within an establishment. An establishment is a distinct physical place of business rather than an entire business or enterprise consisting of several places of business. In some circumstances, physically separate places of business may be treated as one establishment. For example, if a central administrative unit hires employees, sets their compensation, and assigns them to separate work locations, the separate work sites can be considered part of one establishment

Differences in pay are permitted when they are based on seniority, merit, quantity or quality of production. These are known as affirmative defenses and it is the employer's responsibility to prove that they apply.

Wage discrimination and its laws.:

Equal pay for equal work is a cornerstone of this nation's commitment to equality and fairness in the workplace. To combat wage discrimination effectively, it is vital to recognize the diverse ways pay disparities arise in the workplace and to pursue a wide range of strategies in response.

wage discrimination is a problem experienced by many different groups, including women, men, older workers, and workers with disabilities.

wage discrimination charges are filed under several different laws prohibiting employment discrimination. The majority of wage discrimination charges are filed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. These charges include claims alleging wage discrimination based on race, gender, national origin, and religion. Gender-based wage discrimination claims are also filed under the Equal Pay Act. Nearly one-fifth of wage discrimination charges include an allegation of wage discrimination based on age, and a slightly smaller percentage of charges allege wage discrimination on the basis of disability.

In conclusion wage discrimination is a problem the above points shows that it is difficult to determine the amount of wage discrimination in the workplace