Astrazeneca Pay Discrimination Case Study

AstraZeneca is a large pharmaceutical company that has a global reach. They are a provider of medications and medical equipment to the Veterans Administration hospitals throughout the United States under federal contract. In 2010, the Department of Labor filed a lawsuit against AstraZeneca on behalf of 124 women who claimed that they were subjected to pay discrimination. AstraZeneca has settled this suit in the amount of $250,000 paid to the complainants. These allegations against AstraZeneca were first brought to light in 2002 when the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) was conducting a routine review of AstraZeneca’s practices. The OFCCP found that AstraZeneca was in violation of an Executive
These elements can include skill, responsibilities, effort, and working conditions. These fields can be further broken down into subcategories such as education in skills, number of subordinates in responsibilities, tedious and arduous work in effort, and harsh or hazardous conditions in working conditions. The Human Resource executive then makes a determination of a comparable salary given these factors. The point system is widely used, but not without its faults. Many categories can be subjectively decided, resulting in biases included gender bias. A check and balance system can combat this and discover any discriminatory practices before they are implemented. In the case of AstraZeneca, a pharmaceutical company, many of the employees may be required to, or do posses higher education to be competitive for jobs within the organization. A pay schedule based on an employee’s education level, experience in the field, or other objective factors related to the work, could prevent further allegations of unfair pay practices. Utilizing a method such as the point system can help prove that organizations are paying their employees based on merit, and not because of discriminatory