Are employers allowed to pay employees differently based on their job duties?
Yes, employers in Pennsylvania are allowed to pay employees differently based on their job duties. The wage and hour laws in Pennsylvania ensure that employers must only pay staff “for their work and at fair and reasonable wages”. This means that employers have the right to pay employees differently depending on their job description and duties. As long as the pay rate is fair and allows the employee to make a living wage, then the employer is allowed to have a different pay rate for different job duties. However, employers in Pennsylvania must still adhere to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which sets certain minimum wage and maximum hour requirements that employers must meet. Under this law, employers must pay an employee at least the federal minimum wage and overtime pay for time worked over 40 hours per week. In Pennsylvania, the minimum wage is $7.25 per hour for most employers, and overtime is 1.5 times the regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 hours in a week. In addition, Pennsylvania has laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender, race, age, national origin, or religion in the workplace, which means employers must ensure they are not paying employees differently based on any of these factors. Employers must also make sure that they are not paying employees less than minimum wage or failing to pay them overtime as outlined by the federal FLSA.
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