ABSTRACT
The employer could be liable, however, under the theory of comparable worth. This theory is based on the premise that jobs of equivalent “worth” or value to an employer or to society as a whole should be compensated equally even if the jobs are dissimilar in content. The theory assumes that the proper remedy when two jobs are “comparable,” but unequally compensated, is for the employer of the lower-paying job to raise employees’ compensation to the level of the higher-paying job. Thus, the employer of nurses who did not discriminate between male and female nurses could nevertheless be liable under a theory of comparable worth if a plaintiff could demonstrate that nurses possessed skills comparable to, say, electricians, but were paid less. The employer would then be required to raise the compensation of nurses to the level of electricians.
