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ARTICLE · 23 JUNE 2022

Equal Pay Litigation Trends Update: Recent Attempts To Clarify Burden-Shifting Framework Applied To Equal Pay Act Litigation

Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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The recent increase in equal pay lawsuits has meant an increase in legal decisions interpreting the provisions of the federal Equal Pay Act and its state-level analogues.

United StatesEmployment and HR
Matthew Gagnon
Matthew Gagnon
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Seyfarth Synopsis: The recent increase in equal pay lawsuits has meant an increase in legal decisions interpreting the provisions of the federal Equal Pay Act and its state-level analogues. That increased scrutiny has brought some surprisingly new and fresh thinking about how equal pay cases should be decided, even with respect to some issues that, until only recently, seemed to be long-settled law. This article will discuss one such fast developing trend: courts starting to question anew the legitimacy and applicability of the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting framework to resolve these types of cases.

Each year, Seyfarth analyzes all rulings impacting equal pay litigation and distills that analysis into our yearly publication, Developments in Equal Pay Litigation, 2022 Update. Through that process, we are able to identify and track significant legal trends in this area, including what new and novel legal theories are animating the plaintiffs' bar, and which of

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