When I was recently asked to answer a reporter’s questions about pay equity, I jumped at the chance because I remembered an issue from my first full-time job that still irks me today. Thankfully the law in the US and especially in California has evolved on this issue quite a bit. Today an employee can go to Human Resources and ask about pay issues and has legally protected rights associated with those inquiries.

Also Human Resources should be trained on how to answer such questions honestly so the employee knows why they are being paid less. In my experience there almost always is a legitimate business reason, such as experience, education, seniority, location, or particularized skill set. The employee is entitled to know.

Read the full Newsweek article with my quotes here.