When a female VP receives less pay and lower bonuses than her three male counterparts, is it fair play or gender discrimination? A Pennsylvania District Court recently reviewed a case raising that issue. Its decision illustrates some of the principles behind the Equal Pay Act (EPA).

What happened. Alle-Kiski Medical Center is a division of the West Penn Allegheny Health System. “Joan” started working for Alle-Kiski as a director of operations in 1983. The president and CEO of the medical center at that time established a new organizational team with four vice presidents (VPs). Joan was promoted to one of the VP positions in fall 2003.

At first, all four VPs were paid the same base salary. Their bonuses based on performance, though, varied by several thousand dollars, with Joan receiving the least. Over the next 3 years, Joan continued to receive smaller bonuses than her counterparts, as well as receiving smaller increases in base salary. Joan made numerous requests to the CEO for a salary review over the course of 5 months, stating that she was receiving less than her male counterparts for similar positions. The CEO failed to carry through with the salary review. Joan sued, alleging that Alle-Kiski violated the Equal Pay Act (EPA). Alle-Kiski requested that her claim be dismissed, stating that the four VP positions required different skills and the VPs’ performance levels differed.

What the court said. The EPA prohibits differentials in pay that are based primarily on gender. Employers covered by the EPA must ensure that male and female employees are paid equal wages for performing substantially equal jobs. The court in this case reviewed the job duties of each of the four VPs, and determined that there is a legitimate issue as to whether the four VP jobs required equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and were performed under similar working conditions to warrant equal pay. The court refused to dismiss Joan’s claim. Wildi v. Alle-Kiski Medical Center, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, No. 08-284 (9/18/09).

Point to remember: The EPA requires that a male employee and a female employee be paid equally if their jobs are “substantially equal.” This does not mean that the job titles and descriptions need to be identical for the EPA to apply.  Minor differences in degree of skill required or in job responsibilities cannot justify a pay differential between men and women.