A legally enforceable decree ordering an employer to pay to an employee retroactively a designated increase in his or her salary that occurred during a particular period of employment. A decision rendered by a judicial or Quasi-Judicial body that an employee has a legal right to collect accrued salary that has not been paid out to him or her.
Back pay awards ensue from litigation involving employment discrimination and issues regarding labor-management relations. Federal Civil Rights legislation provides for back pay awards to compensate the victim for economic losses suffered as a result of discrimination.