Hiring in a Competitive Marketplace — Pay Equity and Beyond

Greg Abrams and Kelly Petrocelli are presenting “Hiring in a Competitive Marketplace — Pay Equity and Beyond” for MRA, one of the largest employer associations in the United States.

Faced with new challenges to recruit and retain talent, employers are offering incentives, referral bonuses and other financial rewards to address the competitive marketplace. Before offering such incentives, employers should understand how incentives may impact wage-and-hour practices and take steps to develop compliant policies that minimize risk.

Additionally, recent pay equity initiatives by state and local governments may impact employers’ hiring practices. For example, Illinois not only bans salary history inquiries, but recently enacted additional amendments to its pay equity law that will impose affirmative reporting obligations on some employers. Minnesota also has legislation pending similar to Illinois’ salary history ban. Employers need to understand their obligations, restrictions and reporting requirements, and develop strategies for creating enticing employment offers in a competitive marketplace.

This session also discusses the following considerations for employers:

• Understanding how financial incentives may impact wage and hour compliance (e.g., overtime)
• Developing policies and procedures for establishing when such financial incentives become earned and payable
• Understanding salary history bans and salary disclosure obligations
• Developing pay/salary surveys for equal pay compliance
• Preparing to defend your pay practices in litigation