1. Massachusetts Equal Pay Act (MEPA)
Webinar
This is John Roy, the Director for Compensation for the UMass Medical School and I'd like to welcome you to a webinar on the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act, commonly referred to as MEPA.

2. Massachusetts Equal Pay Act
Signed into law on August 1, 2016.
Effective July 1, 2018.
Attorney General’s Guidance published on March 1, 2018
“No employer shall discriminate in any way on the basis
of gender in the payment of wages, or pay any person
in its employ a salary or wage rate less than the rates
paid to its employees of a different gender for
comparable work…”
The Massachusetts Equal Pay Act was signed into law on August 1st, 2016 and became effective on July 1st, A few months before the effective date on March 1st, the Attorney General's Office of Massachusetts published a document providing guidance on how to interpret the law. This webinar will provide more detail in the following slides, but in summary the law says no employer shall discriminate in any way on the basis of gender and the payment of wages or pay any person in its employer salary or wage rate less than the rates paid to its employees of a different gender for comparable work.

3. Who is covered? All employers in Massachusetts (except the federal
government)
Any employer outside Massachusetts with employees whose “primary place of work” is in Massachusetts
Any employee with a “primary place of work” in
Massachusetts, even if the employee lives outside
Massachusetts (telecommuting to a Mass. worksite)
Includes full-time, part-time, seasonal, per-diem and temporary employees
Who is covered under this new law? All employers in Massachusetts except the federal government, but it also includes any employer outside Massachusetts with employees whose primary place of work is in Massachusetts. Any employer with a primary place of work in Massachusetts is covered by the law even if the employee lives outside of Massachusetts. So, if the employee is telecommuting into a Massachusetts worksite they would be covered. The definition of primary place of work is a location where the employee does most of their work. MEPA covers all categories of employees: full-time, part-time, seasonal, per diem and temporary employees.

4. What is “Comparable Work”?
Work that requires substantially similar:
Skill, effort and responsibility
And is performed under similar working conditions
Skill: experience, training, education, and ability
Effort: physical and mental exertion
Responsibility: discretion, decision-making and accountability. Amount of supervision received.
Working Conditions: environmental, shifts
“Substantially similar” means all of these factors must be
“alike to a great or significant extent, but are not
necessarily identical in all respects”
In the summary I mentioned that we cannot pay different wages to employees of a different gender for comparable work. So, what is comparable work? The law defines comfortable work as work that requires substantially similar skill, effort and responsibilities, and is performed under similar working conditions. Now, what is the definition of each of these components? Skill: the experience training education and ability required to perform the job, but it is only the experience education and training that is directly related to performing the job requirements. So, a degree that an employee has that is not necessary to perform the job would not be considered. Effort: this is the amount of physical and mental exertion needed to perform the job. Responsibility: this is the amount of discretion or decision-making or accountability that the employee has. Responsibility is also determined by the amount of supervision the employee receives. Working conditions: refer to the type of environment and physical factors that the employee may be exposed to. Conditions such as extreme temperatures, noise, hazardous materials. It also refers to whether the job is on a shift later than the first shift. Part of the definition of comparable work is that the work must be substantially similar. This means all of the factors mentioned must be alike to a great or a significant extent but are not necessarily identical in all respects.

5. What is included in “wages”?
Broadly defined
Includes all forms of remuneration - commissions, bonuses, profit sharing, deferred compensation, paid time off, expense accounts, car and gas allowances, retirement plans, insurance, and other benefits
Employees performing comparable work must have the same opportunity to participate in benefit programs on the same terms, irrespective of gender.
The law indicates that we cannot pay different wages. So, what is included in wages? The definition of wages has been defined very broadly to include all forms of remuneration such as commissions, bonuses, profit sharing, deferred compensation, paid time off, expense accounts, current gas allowances, retirement plans, insurance and other benefits. Employees performing comparable work must have the same opportunity to participate in benefit programs on the same terms irrespective of gender.

6. What are permissible reasons for pay differences?
Variations in wages shall be allowed if based upon:
A system that rewards seniority with the employer; provided, however, that time spent on leave due to a pregnancy-related condition and protected parental, family and medical leave, shall not reduce seniority;
A merit system, which rewards higher performers;
A system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production, sales or revenue;
The geographic location in which a job is performed;
Education, training or experience to the extent such factors are reasonably related to the particular job in question; or
Travel, if the travel is a regular and necessary condition of the particular job.
Although the law says that we cannot pay different wages, it provides six conditions under which pay differences are acceptable. Variations in wages shall be allowed if based upon: 1. A system that rewards seniority provided however that time spent on leave due to a pregnancy related condition or any protected parental Family and Medical Leave does not reduce seniority. The second condition is if pay differences are based on a merit system which rewards higher performers. The third condition is a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production sales or revenue. This would be peace rate systems or commission-based systems. Number four is that pay differences are based on the geographic location in which a job is performed provided that location corresponds with a different cost of living. The fifth condition that allows for differences in pay is if those differences are based on the education, training or experience that the employee has but only to the extent that such factors are reasonably related to the job. Number six is travel. If the travel is a regular and necessary condition of the job.

7. What are not permissible reasons for pay differences?
Variations in wages shall not be allowed if based upon:
Changes in a labor market or other market factors
Education, training and experience not necessary to perform the job (only those skills required to perform the job, not necessarily all the skills the employee may have)
I've mentioned six conditions under which pay differences are acceptable, but what are the conditions under which pay differences will not be permissible? Variations and wages shall not be allowed based upon changes in a labor market or other market factors that are not based on a geographic difference. And, as mentioned previously, education, training and experience not necessary to perform the job. Only those skills required to perform the job will be considered which may not necessarily be all the skills the employee has.

8. UMMS Recruitment & Interview Process Don’t’s (MEPA Compliant)
Employers are prohibited from seeking the wage or salary history including a broad classification of benefits information from an applicant or from their current or former employer. (The applicant may voluntarily disclose this information, however, this information should Not be documented).
Employers may Not prohibit employees from inquiring about, discussing, or disclosing their own wages or another employee’s wages to another employee or a third party.
Managers should not disclose or share employee’s salary information with other employees.
Employers may not retaliate against any employee who exercises his or her rights under the law.
*** Reminder – The employer is prohibited from asking candidates about current or past salary history. Do Not engage in salary discussions with candidates.
When it comes to recruiting and interviewing at UMass Medical School, what do we recommend you do not do? Don't seek the wage or salary history including a broad classification of benefits information from an applicant or from their current or former employer. The applicant may voluntarily disclose this information, however if this is the case, this information should not be documented. Don't prohibit employees from inquiring about, discussing with, disclosing their own wages or other employees’ wages to another employee or a third party. Don't disclose or share employee salary information with other employees. Don't retaliate against any employee who exercises his or her rights under this new law. Please remember the employer is not allowed to ask a candidate about current or past salary history, so don't engage in any salary discussions with candidates.

9. UMMS Recruitment & Interview Process Do’s (MEPA Compliant)
The UMMS Employment Application, Applicant Tracking System, Interview Checklist, Pre-Hire Employment Forms, Interview Training Materials, Screening Questions and Recruitment and Selection Policies have removed All references to current or past salary history inquiries.
Review and exclude any reference to current or past salary history or benefit information on any personal or department interview or hiring forms or interview questions.
A “Target Compensation Range” will be pre-identified for each position.
The UMMS employment application requests the candidate’s “Desired Salary”.
Continue to interview and assess candidates based on their education, training, experience /skill and abilities as related to the position.
The Talent Specialist will continue to work with Hiring Managers and Compensation staff to develop job offers and comply with the MEPA law. (Do Not discuss or document candidate’s current salary or history including benefits).
UMMS continues to use and maintain our internal “Employer Qualifications” data to set hiring pay for candidates and employees to maintain equity and comply with the law.
All Hiring Managers, Interview Team Members, Interview Committees and Human Resources staff need to review a mandatory pre-recorded training webinar explaining the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act before they interview and or interact with candidates for UMMS. The webinar will be distributed directly to the UMMS Management Team, Human Resources Department and available for Interview Team Members and Interview Committees to access.
Then, what is it that we want you to do as part of the recruiting and interviewing process at UMass Medical School? To comply with the law, we have removed all references to current and past salary histories from the UMMS employment application, applicant tracking system, interview checklist, pre-hire employment forms, interview training materials, screening questions and recruitment and selection policies. Do review and exclude any reference to current or past our history or benefit information on any personal or Department interview or hiring forms or interview questions. We will identify a target compensation range for each position. The UMMS employment application continues to request the candidates desired salary. Do continue to interview and assess candidates based on their education, training, experience, skill and abilities that are related to the position. Do continue to work with your talent specialists and compensation staff to develop job offers that comply with the MEPA law, but please do not discuss or document candidates’ current salary or history including benefits. We will continue to use and maintain our internal employer qualifications data to set hiring pay for candidates and employees to maintain equity and comply with the law. Do review a mandatory pre-recorded training webinar explaining the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act before you interview or interact with candidates for your UMMS jobs. The webinar will be distributed directly to the UMMS management team, Human Resources Department and will be available for interview team members and interview committees to access. This is a requirement for all hiring managers, interview team members, interview committees and human resources staff.

10. Employer obligations under MEPA
Adjust salaries or wages so employees performing comparable work are paid equally
Cannot reduce the wages of an employee to comply with the law
No requirement that employers pay employees retroactively to compensate for historical disparities
Now that MEPA has been implemented, what are UMass Medical Schools’ obligations under the law. Our main obligation is to adjust salaries or wages so employees performing comparable work are paid equally. But we cannot reduce the wages of an employee to comply with the law. There is no requirement in the law that employers pay employees retroactively to compensate for historical disparities.

11. MEPA Resources Links to MEPA information: MEPA FAQs Contacts:
Maryann Sanders UMMS Human Resources Director, Compensation
Steve Stowe UMMS Human Resources Director, Talent Acquisition
I hope you have found this webinar informative. The link below will bring you to a frequently asked questions document provided by the office of the Attorney General. Should you have any questions please feel free to contact John Roy, director, compensation at or Steve Stowe director, talent acquisition at Thank you.

12. Thank you
Refer to the handout - What Did You Learn?. Please complete the following questions as accurately as you can to see what you’ve learned in this course.