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Women Can't Have Prior Salaries Used Against Them, Court Says In Equal Pay Case

America's continuing gender pay gap is "an embarrassing reality of our economy," the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said.

Employers can't pay women less than men just because they made less at a previous job, a federal appeals court has ruled. The continuing gender pay gap is "an embarrassing reality of our economy," the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in its opinion.

The court said a woman's prior salary, whether considered on its own or along with other factors, can't be used to justify paying a female employee less than her male counterpart. To do so perpetuates discrimination, the court's majority opinion said.

Citing studies that

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