Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 67.18
Liaison Weston Dripps
Submission Date Aug. 19, 2024

STARS v3.0

Amherst College
PA-13: Pay Equity and Living Wage

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.80 / 4.00 Weston Dripps
Director of Sustainability
Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Has the institution conducted one or more internal pay equity assessments during the previous three years to identify disparities that are not attributable to skills, responsibilities, or level of experience?:
Yes

Description of the methodologies used to assess internal pay equity:

The college has recently completed two separate pay equity assessments for its staff:

  • a third party analysis of pay was completed by Sullivan Cotter.  In aggregate, Amherst’s base pay values for exempt and non-exempt positions are market competitive at the 50th and 75th percentiles.
  • an annual pay equity analysis by Mass Equity that is required by the state. The Massachusetts Equal Pay Act (MEPA) requires employers to perform pay equity analyses to ensure they're not discriminating against employees based on gender when paying them. MEPA defines "comparable work" as work that requires similar skill, effort, and responsibility, and is performed under similar working conditions. Employers can only pay workers differently for comparable work if there's a justifiable reason. 

The college does a separate internal pay equity analysis for its faculty, that is conducted by the Committee on Priorities and Resources. The study compares faculty pay to a set of our peer instutitions.


Are the pay equity assessment(s) inclusive of both academic and non-academic staff?:
Yes

Do the pay equity assessment(s) explicitly address pay equity by gender identity?:
Yes

Do the pay equity assessment(s) explicitly address internal pay equity by racial, ethnic, and/or Indigenous identity?:
No

Does the institution publish the results of its internal pay equity assessments?:
Yes

Published results of the institution’s most recently finalized internal pay equity assessment:
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Online resource where the results of the institution’s internal pay equity assessments are available:
Points earned for indicator PA 13.1:
0.80

Is the institution a third party accredited living wage employer?:
No

Narrative and/or website URL detailing the institution’s living wage accreditation:
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Local currency code:
USD

Performance year for living wage:
2023

Living wage:
27.91

Standard or methodology used to determine the living wage:

For 2023 -2024 salary data this will amount to $27.91 an hour for a living wage based on the MIT Wage Calculator. This translates to $58,000 a year.


Wage floor for regular/permanent employees:
19.35

Wage floor for short-term/casual academic staff:
16

Wage floor for short-term/casual non-academic staff:
16

Percentage of employees that receive remuneration equivalent to at least a living wage:
60

Narrative outlining the forms of remuneration included in the living wage calculations:

We included both regular/permanent and short-term/casual employees. This analysis is based solely on the annual salaries and does not include benefit compensation.


Has the institution made a formal commitment to pay a living wage?:
No

Narrative and/or website URL detailing the institution’s formal commitment to pay a living wage:
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Points earned for indicator PA 13.2:
0

Does the institution have one or more significant contractors?:
No

Documentation affirming that the institution has no significant contractors:
Total number of significant contractors:
0

Number of significant contractors known to pay a collectively determined or living wage:
0

Description of the methodology used to determine which significant contractors pay a collectively determined or living wage:
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Percentage of significant contractors that pay a collectively determined or living wage:
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Points earned for indicator PA 13.3:
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Notes about the information provided for this credit:
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Additional documentation for this credit:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.