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Human Resources
A difference of 10 cents may characterize wage discrimination
Publié le 19 avril 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
A difference in treatment between two employees can be characterized by a wage discrimination of 10 cents. This is what the Court of Cassation said in a ruling on February 14, 2024.
An employee with a disability who was dismissed by his employer brought an action for damages for wage discrimination. This difference in treatment, relating to the payment of a premium, amounted to 10 cents per hour.
The appeals court considers the employee’s application. It holds that the employer does not justify by ‘no objective factor foreigner to any discrimination’ the difference in treatment between the applicant and one of his colleagues whom the employer incorrectly described as having the status of referee. The employer appeals to the Court of Cassation.
The Court of Cassation upholds the appeal decision. In its view, the employer has not proved that the applicant was not a victim of wage discrimination. In fact, two attestations provided by the employee revealed that the management had never mentioned the existence of technical references.
Thus, wage discrimination, even minimal, constitutes a difference in treatment between two employees performing the same work.