Prior Salary Questions Latest Target for Class Actions

A case in California recently saw the certification of more than 4,000 women in an alleged class action for tying workers’ pay to their prior salaries.  The development is catching the attention of both defense and plaintiffs’ attorneys as it signals the common business practice could allow some discrimination class actions to survive. Megan Winter tells Bloomberg Law that while companies have largely changed the practice of using prior salary, employers could still be vulnerable to pay equity lawsuits for decisions made years, even decades ago. She says: “Plaintiffs’ attorneys are on the lookout for those scenarios as a source of possible class liability. Even if a class claim is barred by arbitration or cannot be certified, individual claims can be expensive.”

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