Is it legal for an employer to pay staff different wage amounts when both staff have the same roles and responsibilities?

If the reason for the different wages is based on something like sex or race they might find themselves in hot water. But there's a lot of other reasons employees may have different wages too.

There's often more that goes into wages than just simply responsibilities. Like my job, I know I get paid more than some of my coworkers that have the same responsibilities. Why? Because I've been with the company longer, had more chances for raises, and always get a good raise (our raises are based on reviews where we're graded on different things and the dollar amount is determined by your score). And then there's even a few who I know have less responsibilities than me but make more. Why? Because they've been with the company way longer than me and had that many more raises over the years.

So what's making you wonder if it might be illegal?

In general, yes. Why not? An employer can reward some with higher wages for better work and more experience.

If the employer is the government, there are stricter rules and policies are clearly defined and published.
If the employer is huge, sometimes employees band together in class actions based on civil rights like gender (Walmart).
Civil rights can be a factor in small companies too, but it's more difficult to show a pattern of discrimination. The employer can just say that you aren't performing as well as others.
Some companies have an employee handbook that defines policy for hiring, firing, and performance reviews and wage increases. They might even show a salary range for each job or category of job. But not exact amounts. And if no stated policy, then they can pay you what they want (at or above your state's minimum wage).

Is it legal for an employer to pay staff differant wage amounts when both staff have the same roles and responsibilities?Hello s:

Sure it is... This is the land of the free and the home of the brave...

excon

Yes, unless the only reason for the difference is race or sex or another protected class.

But most places pay different rates, just look at sport players,
But like in the place I work, there are 5 people doing the same job and all of us make different pay

How do you know what others are making? Generally workers do not discuss salaries with their co-workers for this very reason.