Attorneys at the Women’s Law Project authored and filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the City of Philadelphia in an ongoing legal challenge to the city’s prior wage equal pay ordinance.
The ordinance, adopted in 2017, prohibits employers from relying on prior wages to determine pay and additionally prohibits inquiries about wage information that can be used to pay women and people of color less than white men for the same work. It was unanimously adopted by City Council and signed by Philadelphia’s mayor because existing non-discrimination laws have not succeeded in eliminating the persistent wage gap that harms women and people of color.
The amici brief was filed in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals by WLP attorneys Terry L. Fromson and Amal Bass along with Helen Norton, an attorney and law professor at of the University of Colorado Law School. The brief was filed on behalf of the Women’s Law Project and 36 organizations dedicated to wage equity.
The case is before the appeals court after the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania issued a split decision in May granting in part and denying in part the Chamber’s motion seeking a preliminary injunction seeking to block the ordinance.
The judge granted the Chamber’s request for a preliminary injunction as to the inquiry provision based on its determination that it violated the First Amendment. However, it refused to enjoin the reliance provision as in violation of the law. Both parties appealed the ruling.
Research shows that women and people of color receive lower wages than their similarly situated white male colleagues, resulting in a loss of income that burdens not only the worker, but also families, communities, and the entire economy. These lower wages result in a wage gap that is not completely explained by non-discriminatory factors such as education, union membership, and experience. Research shows that a significant part of the “unexplained” gap is caused by discrimination.
Local equal pay ordinances are especially important because the Pennsylvania Legislature has so far refused to close loopholes in the state Equal Pay Act, which has not been updated since 1967 when it was amended to apply to fewer people.
Our latest brief supports the City’s appeal requesting the court reconsider the preliminary injunction of the provision that would prohibit employers from asking a prospective employee their salary history.
You can read the brief, which details our legal arguments, here.
The Businesses Seeking to Block Philadelphia’s Equal Pay Ordinance
Thirteen local businesses are identified in the lawsuit currently blocking a provision in Philadelphia’s prior-wage equal pay ordinance.
- Bittenbender Construction
- Comcast Corp.
- Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
- Liberty Property Trust
- DocuVault Delaware Valley LLC
- Drexel University
- Jacobson Strategic Communications
- FS Investments
- Sandmeyer Steel Company
- Diversified Search
- Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia
- ESM Productions
- Day & Zimmermann
Thank You to the Organizations that Signed on to this Brief
The Women’s Law Project would like to thank the civil rights and non-profit organizations that signed on to this brief in support of Philadelphia’s prior wage equal pay ordinance including: A Better Balance: The Work and Family Legal Center; American Association of University Women; The American Civil Liberties Union; Atlanta Women for Equality; The California Women’s Law Center; The Coalition of Labor Union Women; Community Legal Services; Equal Pay Today; Equal Rights Advocates; Family Values @ Work; Gender Justice; Hadassah; The Institute for Women’s Policy Research; The Keystone Research Center; Legal Aid at Work; Legal Momentum,; Legal Voice; The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum; The National Center for Law and Economic Justice; The National Council of Jewish Women; The National Council of Jewish Women; The National Employment Law Project; The National Organization for Women; The National Partnership for Women & Families; The National Women’s Law Center; The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape; PathWays PA; Restaurant Opportunities Center of Pennsylvania; Southwest Women’s Law Center, The Union for Reform Judaism; Women and Girls Foundation of Southwestern Pennsylvania; Women Employed; and Women of Reform Judaism.
The Women’s Law Project is a public interest law center in Pennsylvania devoted to advancing the rights of women and girls.
Sign up for WLP’s Action Alerts here. Follow us on twitter and like us on Facebook.
We are a non-profit organization. Please consider supporting equal rights for women and girls by making a one-time donation or scheduling a monthly contribution.
