Abstract
The federal government is the largest employer in the United States, with over 1.5 million General Schedule (“GS”) employees working across various agencies. Under the federal pay system, salaries are determined by the GS, a structured scale that assigns employees to grades and steps based on qualifications and experience. However, agencies may rely on prior salary when setting pay, a practice that risks perpetuating gender-based wage disparities. Given the federal government’s influence on broader employment practices, whether prior pay qualifies as a “factor other than sex” under the Equal Pay Act (“EPA”) is a question with far-reaching implications.
Recommended Citation
Jack Weilmuenster,
Eliminating Prior Pay: Reframing the Equal Pay Act's "Factor Other Than Sex" in Federal Employment,
70
St. Louis U. L.J.
(2026).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.slu.edu/lj/vol70/iss4/11