President Barack Obama's National Equal Pay Enforcement Task Force has been collecting data extensively from private employers to learn more about pay gaps and to establish targets for law enforcement. Furthermore, the President has appointed people with civil rights litigation backgrounds into key administrative agencies. It is clear his Administration is going to pursue an aggressive enforcement agenda.
Write a short paper that answers these questions in roughly 250 words each:
- What laws does the President's Task Force seek to enforce and what are its likely litigation targets?
- What steps can employers take to avoid discrimination claims and win lawsuits?
- What laws exist in your state to promote equal pay, and how effective are they?
- Which other countries have equal pay laws? Is pay inequality in the U.S. more or less severe than elsewhere in the world?