Re: Note to plaintiffs
"making pay discrepancies known can lead to workplace conflicts"
Precisely the point. Which is the root problem here, the discrepancy or the knowledge of it? Given that suspicions are arguably even more toxic than facts (the latter not being underhand) the solution is obvious: salary transparency and equality. No individual negotiations allowed, everyone has a Grade and they get paid at the set rate. You can still be accused of discriminatory promotion policies, but allegations of directly discriminatory salaries are eliminated at a stroke.
I'm an STO (Senior Technical Officer) so I know for a fact I earn the same as other STO's and also SEO's (Senior Executive Officer). All S grades are my peers, all H(igher) grades are subordinates and all P(rincipal) grades outrank me. It defuses a lot of the bovine byproduct of "office politics".