Payroll FAQs

Under the current law, how is the “bona fide factor other than sex, race, or ethnicity” applied?

Under the current law, an employer may defeat an Equal Pay Act claim by proving that the wage differential is due to a bona fide factor other than sex, race, or ethnicity, but to succeed on this defense, the employer must also prove that the factor is

  • not based on or derived from a sex-, race-, or ethnicity- based factor;
  • job related; and
  • consistent with a business necessity.

Examples of a “bona fide factor other than sex, race, or ethnicity” include education, training or experience.


October 2018

Tags: California, Equal Pay Act