Implementing Comparable Worth/Pay Equity: Experiences of Cutting-Edge States

Abstract

This article focuses on the experiences of eight states that have implemented comparable worth statutes: Connecticut, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, New York, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin. Montana did not find any gender-related disparities between its job classes, but each of the other seven states uncovered disparities and remedied them by expending amounts ranging from 1% to 4% of total payroll. Public employee unions are comparable worth/pay equity's most influential political supporters, but union support usually diminishes in the wake of pay equity adjustments. Implementation has produced unanticipated consequences: in Iowa, for example, pay adjustments generally did not benefit more senior employees but rather, in many cases, raised individual employees' salaries above those of their supervisors. Each state analyzed job classes systematically, but several states modified the consultant-provided systems due to a belief that widely-used methods undervalued female predominant job classes. As comparable worth/pay equity implementation has both technical and political dimensions, important value choices must be made throughout the process.