After yearslong battle that involved a wage discrimination complaint due to unequal pay, the U.S. Soccer Federation and the U.S. Women’s National Team have finally secured equal pay with the men’s team in a new collective bargaining agreement.
In recent years, the pay dispute between the Men’s National Soccer Team and the Women’s Team has been a source of division due to the profound disparity between the Men’s and Women’s pay in their salaries and bonuses. One of the biggest sticking points in the negotiations was the issue of World Cup prize money. Many believed that the pay gap in the pools of money available to qualifying teams—a difference of about $380 million for the next World Cup cycle—was too massive. Luckily all sides came to a compromise!
Now, the National Teams’ collective bargaining agreements establish equal rates of pay for every type of work. The women and the men will get the same pay for each game played, the same bonuses for games won and for World Cup participation, and equal portions of a new revenue-sharing program with U.S. Soccer.
This historic moment serves as a reminder, that employers should make sure that they are following equal pay laws in order to minimize legal risk. The California Equal Pay Act prohibits employers from paying employees less than employees of the opposite sex for equal work. Therefore, every employer should do yearly audits to ensure that your company is paying employees fairly if they are doing substantially similar work. Contact the Employer Lawyers at Chauvel & Glatt to learn more about equal pay requirements.
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