An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 6 – Wage And Hour Laws

Section 13 W AGE D ISCRIMINATION (E QUAL P AY A CT ) California’s Equal Pay Act, found in California Labor Code section 1197.5, prohibits pay disparity based on sex, ethnicity, or race. 792 Labor Code 1197.5, specifically prohibits a school from paying any of its employees at wage rates less than the rates paid to “employees of the opposite sex” or “employees of another race or ethnicity” for “substantially similar work,” when viewed as a composite of skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions. If the different pay is based on a seniority system, a merit system, a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production, or based on any legitimate business reason other than sex, ethnicity, or race, the pay disparity is not illegal. 793 However, prior salary shall not, by itself, justify any disparity in compensation. 794 Additionally, section 1197.5 requires schools to maintain records of the wages, wage rates, job classifications, and other terms and conditions of employment of the persons employed by the school for a period of three years. 795 The law also precludes schools from prohibiting employees from disclosing the employee’s own wages, discussing the wages of others, inquiring about another employee’s wages, or aiding or encouraging any other employee to exercise his or her rights under this section. 796 A school that violates Labor Code section 1197.5 may be liable for wages lost as a result of the discrimination or retaliation, interest on the lost wages, and attorneys’ fees, if the employee files a civil action in a court. 797 Federal law also prohibits wage discrimination based on gender. 798 An employee cannot recover under both section 1197.5 and the federal wage discrimination laws. If the employee recovers under both, he must return the lesser amount to the school. 799 A. S TATUTE O F L IMITATIONS An employee or former employee may file an individual wage claim against the school. An employee may also bring suit on behalf of himself and all other similarly situated employees of the school in state or federal court as a class or collective action. The applicable statute of limitations depends on the type of wage action. For example, a suit based on an oral employment contract must be filed within two years of the date of the violation. 800 If the contract is written, the employee has four years to file a lawsuit. 801 A suit for minimum wage, unpaid overtime, and other statutory claims must be filed within three years from the date the claim arose. 802 This includes claims for missed meal and rest periods. 803 If a court finds that a school’s wage law violation is a violation of California’s unfair competition law, the employee may recover four years of back pay. 804 Section 14 R EMEDIES A ND E NFORCEMENT

An Administrator’s Guide to California Private School Law ©2019 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 204