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Labor Law and Discrimination - GP Legislation
The New Zealand legislature has made a strong effort in recent years toward the eradication of employment related discrimination. The Equal Pay Act of 1972 sought to eliminate the practice of paying men and women disparate salaries for the same work. Under the Act, employers must make the same terms of employment, including salary and benefits, available to both men and women. Employers are prohibited from using gender as a basis for providing disparate levels of compensation and workplace conditions.
This Act is akin to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 of the United States. This legislation was the first bill signed into law by President Barack Obama.
The American courts have also taken a progressive stance toward gender based discrimination in the workplace. In the case Blank v. Sullivan & Cromwell, the Southern District of New York permitted the discovery of evidence related to partnership advancement in a case brought by female attorneys who had been denied offers of employment.
The Supreme Court of the United States addressed the issue of race-based discrimination in the award of contractor jobs in Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Peña. The general contractor in the case awarded a contract to Gonzales Construction, a small business controlled by a “socially and economically disadvantaged” person, in order to take advantage of government sponsored financial incentives for hiring such companies. The issue in this case dealt with the constitutionality of the law providing financial incentives offered by the government in awarding contractor jobs to businesses owned by disadvantaged minorities. The Supreme Court held that the standard of strict scrutiny must be applied in determining the constitutionality of statutory classifications based on race and ruled that the law providing the incentives was constitutional. Additional case briefs addressing these issues are widely available.
In Great Britain, the Equality and Human Rights Commission is an organization committed to promoting equality and human rights in the workplace. The Commission has produced a publication entitled Sex discrimination: your rights at work which provides further information.
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