The total compensation gap, wage gap and benefit gap between workers with and without a disability

Kevin Hallock, Xin Jin and Michael Waldman

British Journal of Industrial Relations, 2022, vol. 60, issue 1, 3-31

Abstract: The wage gap between workers with and without a disability has been widely documented. However, wages and salaries account for less than 70% of the total hourly cost of compensation for an average U.S. worker. In this study, we construct a measure of total compensation by linking the American Community Survey to a restricted‐access version of the Employer Cost for Employee Compensation database, which contains detailed benefit measures for the years 2008–2014. After controlling for selection into full‐time employment and other observed characteristics, we find that the percentage total compensation gap between full‐time male workers with and without a disability is substantially larger than the percentage wage and salary gap. The opposite pattern is observed for full‐time female workers. Our results suggest that considering only wage and salary may mask the true gaps in total compensation from employment. We also document a persistent benefits gap between workers with and without a disability. We discuss possible explanatory factors for the observed patterns in total compensation and benefit gaps.

Date: 2022
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https://doi.org/10.1111/bjir.12607

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