Effective July 1, 2022, Mississippi now has an Equal Pay Act to address differences in pay between men and women doing the same job.

The Act is so new that it has not yet been assigned Title, Chapter and Section numbers in the Mississippi Code. It can be found, however, on the Mississippi Legislature website under Laws of 2022, House Bill 770.

Here are some of the more significant provisions of the Act.

The general principle of equal pay

Under the Act, “no employer may pay an employee a wage at a rate less than the rate at which an employee of the opposite sex in the same establishment is paid for equal work on a job, the performance of which requires equal skill, education, effort and responsibility, and which is performed under similar working conditions.”

Now, the exceptions.

Notwithstanding the general principle, differences in pay are permitted if the reasons for it are any the following:

(a) A seniority system;

(b) A merit system;

(c) A system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production; or

(d) Any other factor other than sex.

The first three are easily understood. But, what does the fourth really mean?

Any other factor other than sex.

Mississippi’s Act states that “any other factor other than sex” includes, but is not be limited to, the following factors:

(i) The salary history or continuity of employment history demonstrated by the employee as compared to employees of the opposite sex in the same establishment;

(ii) The extent to which there was competition with other employers for the employee's services as compared to employees of the opposite sex in the same establishment; and

(iii) The extent to which the employee attempted to negotiate for higher wages as compared to employees of the opposite sex in the same establishment.

Remedies for a violation of the Act

An employee can enforce the Act in a civil suit in the circuit court in the county where the cause of action occurred.

If an employer is found to have violated the Act, the employee shall be awarded reasonable attorney's fees, prejudgment interest, back pay and costs of the action.

The statute of limitation for filing an action is two (2) years from the day the employee knew or should have known his or her employer was in violation of the Act.

An employer who is paying a wage differential in violation of the Act cannot reduce the wages of another employee in order to comply with the Act.

No employer may discharge, discriminate or in any way retaliate against any employee by reason of any action taken by the employee to invoke or assist in any manner the enforcement of the Act.

The effect of the federal Equal Pay Act

The federal act impacts a claim under Mississippi’s Act in two significant ways.

First, if an employee brings a claim under the federal Act, a separate action may not be maintained under the Mississippi Act.

Similarly, if an employee brings a claim under the Mississippi Act and then later initiates a claim under the federal Act, the Mississippi action shall be dismissed with prejudice.

An employee who seeks relief under the Mississippi Act must first waive any right to relief under the federal Act. (Personal note: I have difficulty reconciling this part of the Act with the prior paragraph which clearly contemplates a suit under the Mississippi Act and a subsequent suit under the federal Act.)

Second, the Mississippi Act is similar to the federal Act.  As a result, for any lawsuits under the Mississippi Act, published precedents of the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and federal district courts embracing the circuit court in which any action under this act is pending, deciding cases under the federal Act shall be considered mandatory authority and shall be followed by the circuit court in which the action is pending, until there is a contrary ruling interpreting the Mississippi Act by the Mississippi Supreme Court or the Mississippi Court of Appeals.

S. Craig Panter

Panter Law Firm, PLLC

601-607-3156

www.craigpanterlaw.com