I got passed over for a company wide "cost of living" raise.?

Cost of living increases aren't required unless they are in a contract. Barring such a contract an employer can give a raise or not give the raise to whoever they want. As long as you weren't not given the raise because you are in a protected class you have no claim.

Its not worth it..they obviously don't appreciate your work, so start looking for another job

The Equal Opportunity Pay Act has to do with equal pay based on gender. It doesn't guarantee that everybody gets a raise. It's not reasonable to expect any kind of a raise after working at the company for only six months. I imagine that the two people who were hired after you and got raises negotiated this arrangement before they were hired. Either that or they proved that they're valuable to the company and the company has decided to reward them for their performance. If you failed to negotiate a pay increase prior to your 1 year anniversary and failed to perform at a high level, that's not something you can really get upset about. ADD: to answer your additional question, you are wrong. The law does not say that everybody has to be paid the same. It says that, all factors being equal, you can't pay men more than women just because they're men. It does not prevent employees from negotiating better salaries for themselves and it doesn't prevent employers from rewarding performance with pay.

If you are the ONLY one passed over then realize that as soon as you file they will look for a reason to fire you. You should be looking for another job either way, because they don't want you. I can understand the whole idea of it's the principle, but you still aren't wanted.

Well, first of all, a company can determine it's own policies about who qualifies for increases, and no, everyone doesn't necessarily get it. And, by the by, you cite a reference that is for the UK, not the US. As far as the timing of the other increases, a company that is going to go through major payroll changes will coincide all those adjustments at one time, so the timing is perhaps intentional, it is likely intentional to affect all changes at one time. Now, as for the unfair salaries - perhaps the market has changed for their position and the company is updating to keep abreast with trends, it's their right to do that to keep employees they might otherwise lose. Your only shot here I believe is to ask for proof that others who have service close to a year did not receive the increase - and you likely won't get that. You feel you've been treated unfairly and certainly you can complain - but will it do any good, and will it cost you to do that. edit: For the record, you can hire someone at a higher rate for the same position if that person offers more experience or other skills - that's the employer's right. And as well, they may negotiate for a higher salary, that can be a condition of employment. Employers may become more competitive to get employees with additional or advanced skills.

It is not a violation of the equal pay act. I had a similar situation with three employees I hired. One was hired at a much higher rate than most of my crew was paid. I paid him more so he would take the job and be happy. Even without the cost of living increase he was paid almost twenty percent more than others doing the same job. He did not get the increase in part because even thow he was hired in July I had prior knowledge of the increase and the other reasons just stated. I don't think he could win a suit claiming he wasn't getting equal pay because in actuality he was paid more after the increase than all but one other crew member. The other two had less experience and training and therefore were less qualified. I hired them at a bargain below what most received. Even they couldn't have win a case because they were less qualified and that's why they were paid less. After the cost of living increase they were more in line with the salary of others. You can sue but you will loose or you can grow up, quit whining and be thankful in these difficult times you have a job at all. You might want to check with HR. Many companies like the one I worked for had a policy against discussing wages. You might be subject to termination.