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Hewlett Packard Enterprise employees allege pay discrimination

Two former Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) employees allege women are paid less for the same work at the tech company. The women recently filed a lawsuit against the company in Santa Clara County Superior Court.

Women were not receiving equal pay

R. Ross was hired as a business analyst at HPE in 2001. Before she left in 2018, Ross had climbed the corporate ladder and eventually was named the Director of Sales Operations. In this position, she had access to salary information. Ross learned men and women hired about the same time were not compensated equally. Even women with much more experience were paid less at the tech company. Before she left, one of her superiors also told her that her male peers received higher salaries.

Rogus was paid less for the same job

C. Rogus started working at HPE in 2013. After a reorganization, she was promoted to Implementation Project Manager. When her supervisor died, she was asked to take over his role. Rogus agreed with the understanding her title and pay would change to reflect the new role. However, her title was never changed, and she was only given a two percent performance-based raise. Her salary was less than her male predecessor.

The two women filed a class action suit against HPE. They allege the company systematically underpaid women. The suit also claims HPE discourages employees from discussing pay with each other.

Employees can discuss pay

The California Labor Code Section 232 prohibits an employer from requiring employees keep their wages a secret. In other words, an employer cannot stop employees from discussing their pay with other workers. Any California company that does so is in violation of this law.

Men and women should receive equal compensation

The federal Equal Pay Act states men and women must be paid equally for equal work. The jobs do not have to be exactly the same, but have substantially similar duties.

Employees who have faced gender discrimination in the workplace have the law on their side. They can pursue compensation for this injustice and hold employers accountable for their actions.