A Primer on the Equal Pay Act

Gender discrimination has taken many forms and includes wage rates which have been addressed separately from discrimination under Title VII. Under federal and state law the practice is unlawful. The pay rate must be the same for both genders with some exceptions.

The Federal Equal Pay Act specifically states that no employer having employees subject to any provisions of 29 USC § 206(d) shall discriminate, within any establishment in which such employees are employed, between employees on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees in such establishment at a rate less than the rate at which he pays wages to employees of the opposite sex in such establishment for equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions, except where such payment is made pursuant to (i) a seniority system; (ii) a merit system; (iii) a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production; or (iv) a differential based on any other factor other than sex: Provided, That an employer who is paying a wage rate differential in violation of this subsection shall not, in order to comply with the provisions of this subsection, reduce the wage rate of any employee.

Meaning that unless there is some sort of seniority system, or pay is based on merit, or pay is based on the quantity or quality of the production, or pay is based on something other than the person's gender, the pay rate has to be the same for both genders. By other the courts have interpreted to mean that the basis for paying a different rate for men and women is a legitimate neutral factor adopted for reasons other than paying men and women different rates.

The equal pay act also prohibits labor organizations, their agents, representing employees of an employer from discriminating an employee in violation of the equal pay act. If there is discrimination then the wages owed are treated as if the employer had failed to pay minimum wage or overtime pay. Which subjects the employer to liability for wages due, penalties, and attorney fees and costs.

Unlike a sexual discrimination case, in these types of cases the employee is not required to prove intent on the part of the employer. If men and women do the same job and have substantially the same amount of skill and experience, then the pay rate must be the same. Employers are allowed to pay different rates for different shifts, if women happen to dominate one shift and men the other, then it is permissible, as long as the night shift is the higher paid shift and it is clearly not the intent of the employer to discriminate.

Employers are not permitted to require greater contributions to pension plans from women, even though women are the gender with the higher life expectancy. The going market rate is not an excuse and not permitted as means to pay men more than women.

The California Equal Pay Act is substantially the same as the federal act and covers all employers, regardless of size. A claimant is required to file suit within two years or if the act was willful within three years. The claimant is entitled to back pay, an equal amount in liquidated damages, interest, costs, and attorney fees. The courts have rejected comparable worth claims under the Equal Pay Act where the employee seeks equal pay for dissimilar jobs on the theory of comparable worth for the respective jobs.

Some organizations have resisted paying men and women equally on the grounds that men have families to support, this argument has been rejected by the courts and the courts don't look favorably to such defenses to gender based pay discrimination.

Getting a Permit For Your Garage Sale

Just like any business venture, contrary to what many think, you must have a permit to conduct business via a garage sale in most cities and states. You do not want to be shut down after all your hard work organizing and pricing your items. A little preparedness will save you a lot of trouble down the road in case you would encounter problems.

If you live in a subdivision you may also want to check that hosting a garage sale is even allowed. Not only will you be required to get state and/or local approval, but getting approval from your home owner's association would be required as well. If you do not live in a subdivision, be sure to get a permit from your state and local governments. Be sure to check on other requirements that your subdivision, state or town may have. Visiting their website or calling should give you the answer you need to continue. Many towns and states have the application on their website for you to download.

Having a garage sale will require that you adhere to the rules and regulations set forth by your governing body. Many are very particular about certain aspects of the sale, such as posting signs and when the sale can be conducted. Many states and townships will not allow you sell new items. Be sure to ask all these questions before you apply for the permit. Be sure to check with your home owner's association about their particular rules. Many will not allow them at all, or will only allow a group garage sale at certain times of the year. If this is the case, maybe you could be the one to coordinate it. These many rules have been put into place to protect owners and city residents from the often noisy garage sales. You do not want neighbors complaining to your city board, keeping you from getting a license the next time.

Be sure to let them know when you are having the sale and stick to the plan. Be sure to have a backup plan if the weather gets bad. Be aware of your governing bodies rules and regulations regarding this.

If this all seems to be a lot of trouble, you could always pack up and sell your wares at the flea market. Many flea markets will allow you to pull a truck up and sell away. Many people have been successful doing this. They are more lenient on the types of items you can sell, such as new items, and you get the added benefit of having lots of traffic. It usually costs about the same as an ad in your local paper to set up. Checking your local government for the requirements on a business license would be a good idea. It should be relatively easy to get the required license. You will not need to get your subdivisions permission to sell in this manner. You may find it much more appealing to sell from a flea market as opposed to having one in your yard or garage. Local governments and home owner's associations are becoming increasingly picky when it comes to having garage sales. Some people have made it a full time profession and have essentially set up a flea market type deal in their yard, many places frown on this.

Multiple Judgment Creditors

After a judgment is finalized, plaintiffs become judgment creditors. In my job, I see the complications of multiple plaintiffs on judgments. Of course, there are at least two advantages to having multiple plaintiffs:

1) To insure that all judgment creditors get the same chance to recover up to the amount owed them for the judgment. An advantage and disadvantage is that all judgment creditors (or their lawyer) need to agree with, and sign, any documents that might lead to recovering money on the judgment. Generally, no judgment creditors get paid, unless there is a plan to pay all creditors.

2) Suing someone (and later trying to recover the judgment against them) is often expensive. When multiple creditors retain the same attorney, on the same case number, and the same judgment debtor; often the individual plaintiffs save a lot of money, sharing the court and legal expenses.

This article is my opinion, and not legal advice. I am a judgment solution expert, and am not a lawyer. If you ever need any legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact a lawyer. Some judgments specify what is owed to each plaintiff, for example plaintiff one is owed $80K, and plaintiff two is owed $40K. If the judgment does not specify certain amounts owed to each plaintiff, then it is presumed there is an equal percentage ownership of the judgment by all plaintiffs.

Complications can arise when one or more judgment creditors cannot be found, or do not agree with whatever judgment recovery action the other plaintiff judgment creditor(s) want to attempt. As far as I know, when there is more than one plaintiff on a judgment, all the plaintiffs need to sign judgment-related documents, and sometimes get their signatures notarized. For example, if a judgment recovery attempt is arranged with a collection lawyer or collection agency; or the judgment is assigned to a judgment enforcer, all must sign documents, and all signatures may need to be notarized.

What can you do when one or more of your fellow judgment creditors do not agree with your plan to attempt to sell (always at a sharp discount) or recover the judgment? This might be an impossible situation. You will need to attempt to reason with them, negotiate with them, or bribe them for their cooperation.

What can you do when a judgment creditor was your relative who died, and you are the executor of their estate? Then you can sign documents as their executor, for example (Executor's name), Executor for (dead person's name). It is a good idea to keep copies of their death certificate handy, because one may be required.

What can you do when you cannot locate one or more of the other judgment creditors named in the judgment, and you want an attorney to attempt to recover the judgment? If an attorney is retained and they succeed in recovering some money (to be shared among all plaintiffs); the attorney can retain the non-client's funds, and then attempt to locate the other creditors. Usually, the lawyer cannot be paid, or take their attorney's contingency fee, out of the non-client's share of any recovered funds.

In most states, there is an "unclaimed funds" system set up with the secretary of state. If the other judgment creditors cannot be located, your lawyer may be able to submit the non-client's funds to the secretary of state's unclaimed funds system; and then later attempt to locate the non-client judgment creditors, to let them know the good news.

How To Convert Every Single Visitor To Your Website Into Subscribers

As a website owner, you have to create compelling reasons for your visitors to return. If someone visits your website and simply leaves, there's a big chance that he or she will never come back again, especially if your website is not appealing enough to them. In the end, every one of us have the same behaviour when it comes to browsing the internet. Most of the time we find ourselves easily forgetting where we where 10 web pages ago.

The bottom line here is simply if your website is not capturing your visitor's attention so much as to keep them coming back, they may never return again. Just think of the amount of money your business will lose if 1,000 visitors visit your website, leave and never come back again. What would be the outcome if you were able to convert just a fraction of these visitors into your paid customers?

A lot of internet marketing gurus tell you that unique content will keep your visitors coming back again and again, but sometimes unique content is not the only solution; there's more to it than that. Converting these visitors into subscribers is the real, long-term solution.

By capturing your visitor's information via a simple opt-in form before they leave your website is the best way to convert them into subscribers to your mailing list. You can then follow-up with them via emails, whereby you can get them to take a look at what you have to offer or even recommend other products or services to them.

How do you convert your visitor into your subscriber?

One way to convert your visitor into your subscriber and build your mailing list is by giving away free reports. Everyone loves free stuff, so by giving away free reports you will have a way of collecting information from your visitors. It is practically impossible to convert a reader into a ready buyer, especially the first time around, so by having him or her on your mailing list, you can then follow-up with them on future offers and have a chance at converting them into your paid customers.

Also, by giving away free reports that are filled with links to your products or services, you will be building credibility with your readers and may even convert them into ready buyers through the free report itself. You can also encourage them to give away your report for free as a means of propagating your name, status and links within your report without any hard work on your part, thus giving you more and more exposure. As time passes, you may even get more and more subscribers just because people were willing to give away your free report.

In today's world gold mine is found in customers; and customers can be found everywhere. Anyone who have the money to spend and is readily spending it is your potential customer.

Here are a few good reasons why you should build a paid customers list:

They are ready to pay, They have the money to pay, If they like your product or service for the first time, they'll likely return! Unlike publishing a regular newsletter, your customer un-subscription rate can be significantly lower!

To sum up, you want to build the best mailing list you can ever have by converting as many visitors into subscribers as possible, then converting them into paid customers in order to gain the maximum revenue from your list.

Build and Maintain Websites For Profit

Even with limited knowledge and experience, you can build and maintain websites for profit. Here are just some ways you can do so.

1. Develop Websites for Local Businesses

Approach local business persons and sell them on the necessity and financial benefits of having a professional website. Local advertising may get you started as well, but expect to get a large portion of your business from referrals.

Charge your clients for the initial design and setup of the website. Work with them to develop a theme for their site based on their unique advantages over the competition. Keep the site simple to start with so that the cost of producing it is not prohibitive to the business and you can complete it profitably in a short time.

In this business, you can also make money on the maintenance and ongoing support of the website. Charge recurring monthly fees for such services needed as web hosting, updates and improvements to the site`s content, search engine optimization and submission, increasing traffic, traffic analysis, mailing list production and maintenance, and much more.

You don`t have to be a master Internet programmer to provide needed, additional services. There are many free and low cost sources of scripts and other resources available to you on the Internet. Offer your clients (and charge extra for) flash introductions, animated graphics, syndicated content, traffic counters, submission forms, chat rooms, pop-up windows, autoresponders, and more.

2. Sell Websites on the Internet

Build web stores, search engines, shopping portals, and other websites and sell them on the Internet.

Some develop sites from templates sold by others. Others build websites from scratch. These websites have been sold on the Internet as turnkey businesses through eBay and other websites.

Another option is to take existing free services and resell them. For example, you could take advantage of free web stores available to you on the Internet. Register a suitable domain name, obtain free or low cost web space, and host that free store at your domain on your web space. Promote your website and increase traffic. Finally, sell your website to the highest bidder on eBay. Be sure that either your Reserve Price or Opening Bid is high enough to make it profitable to you. You will need to transfer the domain name to the buyer.

3. Become an Internet Marketer

Build your own unique website based on a niche theme that has a sufficient market. Then tie in your content with appropriate affiliate programs and your own as well as other peoples` products and services.

To increase commissions and sales, you will need to regularly maintain your site by updating content, increasing targeted traffic, adding appropriate products and services, et cetera.

These, then, are just a few ways that you can profit financially from building and maintaining websites.

For further information and resources about making money from building and maintaining websites, please visit: http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/webmstrbus.html

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Exposing Your Expertise

Writing and leveraging articles is my most successful strategy for promoting my Website and my speaking and consulting services. Visitors to your site from targeted articles tend to be higher quality leads than those from search engines, and potential buyers like to see that you're published in many credible outlets.

Here are my recommendations to implement this strategy:

1. Write the article This may sound self-evident, but a couple of pointers:

Keep it short, and make the language simple, especially if you're targeting online outlets. People don't read word for word on the Web - rather, they'll scan the screen. Complex sentences and dense copy will lose readers fast.

Develop a template that can be easily customized for different target markets. My "Top Seven Ways to Tune Up your Website" has been parlayed into versions for over a dozen different industries. The essential points remain the same, and customizing simply involves adding specific examples.

2. Put it on your Website One of the key goals of your Website should be to showcase your expertise. Content (combined with testimonials and success stories) is the best way to achieve this.

When adding articles to your site:

Include a clear reprint policy. This should state whether you allow articles to be reprinted, and if so, under what terms (including your byline, copyright, notification of use, etc.)

If you have a large number of articles, provide an index page that divides them into appropriate subject groupings, and gives a two-line description of each.

Create a byline with an enticing hook to get people to visit your Website. Mine refers to my popular free tipsheet "Beyond the Search Engines", which lists 23 alternative ways to promote your site. This is far more powerful than a bland statement such as "Philippa Gamse is an internationally recognized..."

3. Research and offer it to appropriate venues It's critical to be very clear about your target audience, and how to reach them. Who are the economic buyers and decision makers that you'd like to be in front of, and what do they read? Do those sites or publications accept outside articles, and if so, what are their policies around doing so?

4. Follow up links and references It's extremely important to measure the success of these efforts, both in terms of the traffic to your site, and its quality.

Check the "referring URL" section in your traffic reports, and follow links to you from any site that you don't recognize. Often, site owners won't inform you when they've used your material. So you want to ensure that you have been properly attributed. But also, thank the site owner. I recently sent a note to a university professor who had added some of my articles to his course reading list. His response? "I really like your ideas, and by the way, we're looking for a speaker for our upcoming conference..."

The Proof of the Pudding... Does all this work? Absolutely. One of my articles was recently highlighted as the "Cool Site of the Week" in Tekguide.net - an online technology and computer directory. But the page that it linked to was not mine, but PowerHomeBiz.com - another site that had featured this article. So I now have sites quoting sites that quote me... and that gets major brownie points in Google - the only remaining credible free search engine.

I was also recently hired to consult for a site in the auto industry after the owner had read my article in eDealershipnews.com. He said "I liked the article, I can see how you think, and I'd like some of that thinking for me". No further selling required!