Editor’s Note

With a rising tide of high profile lawsuits targeting major employers, most notably in the U.S., entailing all the bad publicity and financial liability, with politicians and many notable celebs speaking out against the gender pay gap, discussing pay equity is the need of the hour. 

This month’s issue of HR Legal & Compliance Excellence is a themed edition on 'Pay Equity', where we bring you several hand-picked articles on the topic.

A recent Global Gender Gap report indicates that achieving gender parity will require 151 years in North America. 

According to the report, the global gender gap will close in just 99.5 years. This means North America is lagging way behind.

The question we should really be asking ourselves in the US is why are we allowing this to happen? Read this month’s cover article 151 Years To Close The Gender Gap In North America? by Karen F. Cornwell to know the answer and more. 

As per a recent ruling, workers don’t need to clear a heightened legal standard in order to pursue pay equity claims, setting the stage for a possible increase in the number of lawsuits seeking recovery for alleged unfair wages in 2020 and beyond. The analysis applied by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals’ December 6 decision in Lenzi v. Systemax, Inc. could be applied by other courts across the country, creating a new outlet for workers to claim pay bias. What does this mean for employers? Catch up with Seth Kaufman’s article Federal Appeals Court Lowers Bar To Advance Pay Equity Claims to know more. 
 
Grooming policies are common in the workplace and employers assert they are necessary to maintain a professional working environment. Within the last decade, however, grooming policies, namely provisions banning certain hairstyles, have been highly scrutinized as a result of the disproportionate effect on black employees. To understand the key pointers on the grooming policies, read Traci Jennings’ article Hair Discrimination In The Workplace.

In 2019, there were many developments in the employment law arena that will significantly impact the healthcare industry. Dawn M. Irizarry and Carolina A. Schwalbach’s article Healthcare’s Hurdles In 2020 Employment Law highlights key issues that healthcare facilities need to keep in mind going into 2020.

Also included this month is an exclusive research from HR.com's HR Research Institute that will help you understand the degree to which organizations are embracing pay equity--particularly with respect to offering compensation that is competitive, measurable, ethical and defendable.

This is not all! This month’s issue of HR Legal & Compliance Excellence is packed with top trending topics in the legal and compliance arena, and infused with information on new policies and laws to arm you and your employees to stay compliant and safe.