Equal pay and the remuneration criteria applicable to men and women who perform the same job or a job of equal value is the subject of law no. 14.611/23, which was passed earlier this month on July 3, 2023 and amends the Consolidation of Labor Laws – CLT.
Although considered and provided for in the CLT, the guarantee of equal pay between men and women in labor relations has received new guidelines since Law 14.611 came into force, since by amending article 461 of the CLT, it increased the scope of measures to prevent and curb discriminatory acts in the workplace.
Among the preventive changes, actions related to the transparency of the criteria adopted for valuing work have gained strength. In other words, according to the law, companies must establish their own salary and remuneration transparency mechanisms and companies with 100 (one hundred) or more employees must publish their salary transparency reports every six months, in compliance with the General Law on the Protection of Personal Data (Law 13,709 of 2018), in order to enable monitoring against salary discrimination.
The reports will contain data and information that will be published anonymously and will allow for an objective comparison between salaries, remuneration criteria and the proportion of women and men occupying managerial positions, as well as statistical information on other possible inequalities arising from race, ethnicity, nationality and age.
The creation of specific channels for reporting cases of wage discrimination; the promotion of inclusion programs in the workplace; the promotion of training and education for women to enter, remain and rise in the job market, on equal terms with men, are also mechanisms implemented by the enacted law, which must be observed by employers, as they will certainly be demanded by employees.
In the event that unequal pay or remuneration criteria are identified, the company must implement an action plan with targets and deadlines to mitigate the inequality, although it will not be exempt from the fines and other sanctions provided for by law.
In this sense, the punitive criterion includes an increase in the fine for discrimination. The punishment, previously limited to 50% of the maximum limit of the benefits of the General Social Security System, plus the payment of the salary differences due, is now, as a result of Law 14.611, greater and will correspond to 10 (ten) times the value of the new salary owed by the employer to the discriminated employee, increased to double in the case of recidivism, without prejudice to any compensation for moral damage, to guarantee the application of the right to equal pay and remuneration.
There are many changes and many doubts regarding the application of the labor provisions altered as a result of Law 14.611, however, the fact remains that the rules are in force and although they are still undergoing modulations, companies must be vigilant so as not to incur in acts contrary to the law, which imply the imposition of fines.
Having a legal team that is active in preventive matters and in the face of possible litigation is of the utmost importance in mitigating risks.
