PLEASE NOTE: To protect your safety in response to the threats of COVID-19, we are offering our clients the ability to meet with us in person or by telephone. Please call our office to discuss your options. We expect to remain open during regular business hours subject to further directives from federal, state and/or local officials.

How to determine if a salary is fair

On Behalf of | Oct 9, 2019 | Equal Pay |

Employees in Texas and throughout the country may be curious to know if they are being paid the same as colleagues who perform similar jobs. However, it is generally not acceptable to simply ask people to talk in detail about their annual salaries. Instead, it is a good idea to look at statistics provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Workers can use that data to see how their annual salaries compare to others in their field.

It is a good idea to take cost of living and other variables into consideration when determining if a salary is fair or not. Those who live in cities where housing costs more could be paid more to compensate for that fact. It is also important to take into account education and experience into account when determining if a salary is fair or compares favorable to others in similar fields.

As a general rule, individuals who didn’t negotiate their initial salary may be getting paid less than their peers. This can be especially true for those who have spent more then five years with their current employers. It is also worthwhile to look at old paychecks or tax returns to see if a salary has kept up with inflation in recent years. Inflation was roughly 1.7% between August 2018 and August 2019.

Individuals who believe that they have been the victim of an unfair pay policy due to their gender may want to consider pursuing legal action against their employers. This may make it possible to obtain back pay as well as other financial damages. It may also be possible to seek other forms of relief against an employer such as making salary information available to the public. An attorney may help a worker regardless of how a discrimination case is resolved.

Archives

FindLaw Network