Chris Wall Quoted on Difficulty of Establishing Damages from Pay Transparency Violations

In a new article, partner Chris Wall provides Law360 with his thoughts on the ambiguity inherent in quantifying the harm done to a job applicant alleging a violation of a pay transparency law.

In the past few years, pay transparency laws have been enacted in many states and cities, requiring employers to disclose pay and, in some cases, benefits information in job postings. In the face of litigation over noncompliant listings, attorneys have had to wrestle with the question of who is harmed and how by a violation.

According to employment litigator Wall, it will be a challenge to establish the damages to an applicant for a job, or even to someone who is hired, from a breach of a transparency law.

A successful applicant would likely argue that they would have negotiated for a higher salary had they known the pay range, Wall said.

“But how can the plaintiff say what he or she would have done in that hypothetical scenario? And how much more money would the applicant have sought? And would the employer have agreed to a higher amount?” he said. “That’s all quite speculative.”

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