The firm has worked to improve pay discrepancies since the lawsuit was brought.

Hodgson M., MacLachlan M (1996) Effects of unreasonable pay discrepancies for under- and overpayment on double demotivation.

However, a 2007 Department of Labor study cautioned against overzealous application of the EPA without closer examination of possible reasons for pay discrepancies.

Citing the plaintiff's legal obligation to file the claim within 180 days of the beginning of the alleged pay discrepancy, the Supreme Court tossed Ledbetter's case in a 5-4 decision.

The pay discrepancy between the old jobs and the new is startling.

Adverse actions are obvious, but small pay discrepancy is often difficult to recognize until more than 180 days of the pay change.

There were no regular salary increases and there were pay discrepancies in the past.

But sharp pay discrepancies between public service law and big-firm practice are nothing new, with the firms' latest increases having merely widened the gap.

Recent studies in other disciplines like physics, chemistry and astronomy have found similar pay discrepancies between men and women.

Of course there are obstacles, such as endemic low pay in many industries and complex pay discrepancies between permanent, casual and agency staff.