Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/987074
12 • THE ARTISAN SPRING 2018 June 3 Board of Trustees Meeting June 8-10 District 2 Meeting in Las Vegas, NV June 11 Executive Board Meeting July 4 Independence Day observed, Offices Closed July 8 Board of Trustees Meeting July 16 Executive Board Meeting July TBA General Executive Board Meeting August 5 Board of Trustees Meeting August 6-10 General Executive Board Meeting in New York, NY August 13 Executive Board Meeting August 19 General Membership Meeting at Local 80 from 2 to 4 PM September 3 Labor Day observed, Offices Closed September 9 Board of Trustees Meeting September 10 Executive Board Meeting September 17 Primetime Emmys & Governors Ball 2018 CALENDAR OF EVENTS Guild Brief Helps Secure Big Win in Federal Case Banning Basing Pay Rates on Salary History Our Guild is dedicated to fighting sex-based pay practices in the workplace. As an example of that, in May 2017, the Guild was one of only three unions nationwide which filed a friend-of-the-court brief in a very important federal court case on whether it is consistent with federal law to rely on salary his- tory in setting pay rates. In its brief, the Guild argued that use of salary/pay rate history to establish pay rates perpetuates pay rate distinctions even among workers with similar skills and experience in the industry, and that these distinctions can be the result of past sex discrimination. The Guild's brief pointed out that entertainment industry artists are heavily impacted by the use of salary history to cap "overscale" pay rates and that this means that workers with similar skills and experience in the industry are often paid differ- ently—differences which can be the result of past pay discrimination against women and people of color, as well as members of the LGBT community. The Guild argued that rather than basing pay rates on salary/pay rate history, federal law requires pay rate decisions to be based on legitimate job-related criteria, like experi- ence, training, skill/ability or prior job performance. On April 9, 2018, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, finding that the use of salary history to set pay rates violates the federal Equal Pay Act. In making this finding, the Court specifically stated that this was not a ban on employees bringing up salary history in individual salary negotiations. It is possible that this case will be taken before the United States Supreme Court, but unless overturned by the Supreme Court, this ruling, which applies in nine Western states and two Pacific Island territo- ries, is a big step forward in the effort to eliminate persistent pay gaps between men and women in the workplace. The Guild will work proactively with talent agents and others in the industry to help make sure that they know the law and they do their part in assuring compliance with it. GUILD NEWS