A regional labor court in Brazil found a bank guilty of gender-based salary discrimination, ordering it to compensate a female manager who earned 22% less than her male counterpart.
In a significant ruling by the Labor Court of Rio Grande do Sul, an unnamed bank has been found guilty of gender discrimination in salary payments. The court determined that a female bank manager was earning 22% less than a male colleague in the same position, violating principles of equal pay for equal work. The decision, reached by a majority in the 11th Panel of the Regional Labor Court of the 4th Region, overturned a previous ruling from the 12th Labor Court in Porto Alegre and mandates the bank to align salaries accordingly and pay R$ 10,000 in moral damages to the affected employee.
Judge Valdete Souto Severo, who reported on the case, highlighted that testimonies corroborated the equal nature of the roles held by the female manager and her male counterpart. Both individuals possessed similar technical and hierarchical levels, as well as identical productivity rates. The ruling underscored that both employees were situated in the same metropolitan area, fulfilling the 'same locality' criteria set forth in Article 461 of the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT) prior to the 2017 reform.
This decision is notable in the context of ongoing discussions surrounding gender pay equality in Brazil. By affirming the principle of equal pay for equal work, the court's ruling not only supports the rights of female employees but also sets a precedent for other institutions to review their compensation practices in light of potential discrimination. Such legal decisions may encourage a broader societal shift towards addressing remaining gender disparities in the workplace.
