Legislative Alert: Mississippi Passes Its First Equal Pay Act

On April 20, 2022, Governor Tate Reeves signed the "Mississippi Equal Pay for Equal Work Act." The new law, which takes effect on July 1, prohibits an employer from paying one employee less than another employee of the opposite sex for equal work. To be considered "equal," the work must require equal skill, education, effort, and responsibility, and it must be performed under similar working conditions. The law applies to private and public employers with five or more employees, and it only applies to employees who work forty or more hours per week.

The Act's equal-pay protections do not apply where the differences in pay are because of a seniority or merit system, or a system where earnings are measured by quantity or quality of production. It also codifies a justification for pay disparities based on "any other factor other than sex." Such factors may include the employee's wage history or continuity of employment, the competition for the employee's services,