Question about equal pay for equal work...

[jschut, BSN, RN]

Scenario:

RN #1~ Male. Has not been a nurse quite a year yet. Good nurse, asks a lot of questions. Has a very "boss-y" attitude, tends to stress easily and yell at others. Base pay is $25/hr.

RN #2~ Female. Has been a nurse over 10 yrs, recently obtained RN. Good nurse, self sufficient. Helps others. Base pay is $21/hr.

There is less than 6 months difference in hire dates at this facility, both RN's do the exact same job on different days.

RN#2 was told at hire she would be making $23/hr upon hire, then rate of pay was changed to $21/hr (admin states, "It's Corporates doing...")

Tell me, what would you do in a situation such as this if you were RN#2?

Would anyone contact the Equal Opportunity Commision?

[heron, ASN, RN]

Only if job duties (ie staff vs charge) and RN prep (ie ADN vs BSN) are the same.

If no union, check your employee handbook for mention of a pay premium for BSN or other degrees, charge differential, etc.

If union, talk to your union steward and look at work rules.

[jschut, BSN, RN]

No union and both nurses are ASN.

[hotflashion, BSN, RN]

Oh, pay inequalities. I don't know how it is in nursing since I don't have a nursing job YET, but I remember it was common for employers to tell employees not to talk about pay. Naturally, that always made me want to talk about pay. People are very nervous about talking about pay. Who's getting paid what is not usually public knowledge. How do you know the M getting paid more than the F? Just curious.

[jschut, BSN, RN]

Oh, pay inequalities. I don't know how it is in nursing since I don't have a nursing job YET, but I remember it was common for employers to tell employees not to talk about pay. Naturally, that always made me want to talk about pay. People are very nervous about talking about pay. Who's getting paid what is not usually public knowledge. How do you know the M getting paid more than the F? Just curious.

Let's just suffice it to say, that it is known and proven.

[roser13, ASN, RN]

Seems to me that a problem still exists....it may be known and proven, but HOW? Do you have a policy in place that prohibits employees from discussion $$? If so, how do you demonstrate what is "known and proven"?

[jschut, BSN, RN]

Seems to me that a problem still exists....it may be known and proven, but HOW? Do you have a policy in place that prohibits employees from discussion $$? If so, how do you demonstrate what is "known and proven"?

Of course it's asked to not discuss, but that's not what I am asking.

What I am asking is what would you do if this situation came to light where you work.

That's all. :)

[mercuryrawks]

I see where roser is coming from. As a former HR manager in an electronics chain for several years, we also had a "do not discuss pay" policy. Often I would have a supervisor come up and complain that they have been a sup longer, but the new guy makes more money. Or, the same position person at another store makes more. In almost every case, the person complaining got in trouble. If you are snooping or asking, you are breaking the rules. If they were going on what the other person SAID they were getting paid, it was usually a lie. The pay rate on the pay stubs was too small for it to be "accidently" scene. You knew it was a paystub, don't look. I hope you get it worked out, but watch your back as well.

Mercury

[ItsTheDude]

no surprise, as i've posted many times on this site, many health care employers prefer male nurses (rn, lpn, cna). the employers aren't going to come out and say it, they just do it through hiring practices, promotions and pay rates.

a lawyer that specializes in equal pay would be your best bet to assist you, not nurses.

[roser13, ASN, RN]

"Of course it's asked to not discuss, but that's not what I am asking.

What I am asking is what would you do if this situation came to light where you work.

That's all. :) "

I realize that. My point is, how can you officially and effectively complain about something that you technically should not know?

Say that everyone here advises you to file a complaint and you have a policy in place that more or less says "Don't ask, don't tell"....what will your official statement say? "Ron told Sally, who told Jane, who told me, that he makes $25 an hour base pay"?

And perhaps more importantly, if push comes to shove and the female ASN decides to file suit for equal pay, how will she prove her allegations (without court-ordered access to payroll)?

[leslie :-D]

would it be eeoc or dept of labor, that'd be contacted?

either/or, i'd be contacting the applicable agcy.

but, i'm thinking dates of hire will have something to do with the discrepancies.

i've heard quite often, that employees who've been at a facility for yrs, then a new hire is started off at a higher rate than the experienced ones...

leslie

[Music in My Heart]

Tell me, what would you do in a situation such as this if you were RN#2?

Thank my lucky stars that I had a job!

Quietly start looking for a new one.

Question whether my information was accurate.