Legal Question in Employment Law in New York

Is it legal ?

I recently confronted my employer about me being paid less money then all my other co-workers who perform the same job. When i started the job they only requirement for the job was a high school dipolma and still is. Now when i started i was told by my supervisor who hired me that the starting salary for all customer service reps with no prior experience was $28,000 per year. Now i have recently learned that my co-worker that started after me whom i trained was started at $33,800 a year because she has a college degree in art. Is this legal?

Can i please get a straight answer.

My employment is in the State of New York.


Asked on 9/17/08, 8:01 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jennifer Weil Jennifer N. Weil, Esq.

Re: Is it legal ?

I believe that it is legal for an employer to pay different wages based solely on the possession or non-possession of a college degree. The payment of different wages would not be permissible if it were done to illegally discriminate against you based on sex, race, or disability, for example. These are not the only impermissible types of discrimination. The statute of limitations has recently tightened on wage discrimination claims, and these claims are hard to prove. Your best bet may be to negotiate with your employer for higher pay based on your experience. Good luck.

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Answered on 9/18/08, 11:22 am


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