Fisher Phillips Showcases Pay Equity Knowledge While Celebrating Five Years

Fisher Phillips’ Pay Equity practice recently celebrated five years of serving clients by hosting its Inaugural Pay Equity Summit Series 2021: Igniting Legal Compliance and Positive Cultural Change In Your Workplace. Speakers covered topics like: “Advancing Your Company’s DEI Efforts Through Pay Equity: A Crucial Step In Building a Diverse, Inclusive Workforce”; “Using Data and Technology to Drive Pay Equity in the Workplace”; and “Hope for the Best, Plan for the Worst. Pay Equity Compliance & Litigation.”

The series was hosted as the Pay Equity group celebrates five years of helping clients navigate the challenging demands of equal pay laws across the country and defending against high stakes equal pay litigation. Five years ago, Fisher Phillips became one of the first law firms representing management in the U.S. to launch a Pay Equity practice. The firm’s Pay Equity Practice Group was formed as a result of the collaborative effort of the group’s co-chairs, Cheryl Pinarchick,  Cheryl Behymer and Kathleen Caminiti, who recognized that pay equity represented a “triple threat” to employers who were not mindful of the increased compliance requirements of a myriad of state pay equity laws, federal  EE0-1 Component 2 reporting requirements (which have since been retracted, but which may be reinstated) and high-stakes litigation risks.   

Although a lot has changed since then, the “triple threat” to employers has intensified in recent years. Cheryl Pinarchick observed: “the practice has seen a dramatic shift in policies because of the #MeToo movement, an uptick in state-led pay transparency laws, litigation that has set precedent for future pay disparity claims and an unprecedented pandemic that has had a dramatic impact on working women.”

Kathleen Caminiti echoed this sentiment: “Over the last five years we have seen the conversation around pay equity proliferate with equal pay legislation passed in dozens of states, significant court rulings and as a key component of corporate DEI initiatives. Our team is uniquely positioned to help employers navigate the rapidly changing environment around pay equity.”

Since its inception, Fisher Phillips’ Pay Equity Practice Group has continued to grow, and the team has performed pay audits for clients ranging from 150 employees to over 60,000 employees  Beyond that, in conjunction with the firm’s OFCCP group, the Pay Equity Practice Group has counseled clients on the challenges of complying with the ever-changing EEO-1 and state law wage reporting  obligations.  As Cheryl Behymer noted: “Not only should a company ensure it is fulfilling all of its mandatory compliance requirements, but it should also seek to acquire additional value by using its mandatory reporting tools to inform its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programming.”

Fisher Phillips Pay Equity Practice Group has also defended companies against pay equity litigation and is increasingly tapped by employers seeking to evaluate and/or defend their pay practices. The practice even launched a Pay Equity Interactive Map to help employers understand and comply with a patchwork of equal pay laws throughout the country.

The resounding interest in the firm’s Inaugural Pay Equity Summit Series is a testament to the group’s success and prowess in the area of law. For more information about Fisher Phillips capabilities, visit Fisher Phillips’ Pay Equity Practice page here.