What was the impact of the Equal Pay Act of 1963?

The Equal Pay Act, signed in to law by President John F. Kennedy on June 10, 1963, was one of the first federal anti-discrimination laws that addressed wage differences based on gender. The Act made it illegal to pay men and women working in the same place different salaries for similar work.

What happens if the Equal Pay Act is broken?

Filing a Claim Under the Equal Pay Act Employers found guilty of violating the Equal Pay Act will be liable for compensatory damages. If an employee is able to prove that the employer willfully violated the law, the employer may also be required to pay punitive damages.

Who did the Equal Pay Act affect?

Enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the law applies to employers with 20 or more employees and to federal government, interstate agencies, employment agencies and labor unions.

How does the Equal Pay Act affect employees?

The Equal Pay Act requires that men and women in the same workplace be given equal pay for equal work. The jobs need not be identical, but they must be substantially equal. If there is an inequality in wages between men and women, employers may not reduce the wages of either sex to equalize their pay.

Why did the Equal Pay Act of 1963 Fail?

Today, June 10, 2011, marks 48 years since President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act of 1963 into law. The law has been weakened by loopholes, inadequate remedies, and adverse court rulings, resulting in protection that is far less effective than Congress originally intended.

Who does the Equal Pay Act of 1963 protect?

The Equal Pay Act of 1963, amending the Fair Labor Standards Act, protects against wage discrimination based on sex. The Equal Pay Act (EPA) protects both men and women.

How did the Equal Pay Act of 1963 affect the workplace?

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 is effecting the workplace, women in the workforce, and human resource departments of all companies and businesses. Businesses can avoid discrimination towards women by hiring employees based on levels of experience, education, and aptitude, rather than basing their employee choices on a gender bias.

Why was the EPA exempt from the Equal Pay Act?

Therefore, the EPA exempted white-collar women from the protection of equal pay for equal work. In 1972, Congress enacted the Education Amendments of 1972, which amended the FLSA to expand the coverage of the EPA to these employees, by excluding the EPA from the professional workers exemption of the FLSA.

How is liability established under the Equal Pay Act?

Liability under the EPA is established by meeting the three elements of the prima facie case, regardless of the intention of the employer. As such, the EPA imposes strict liability on employers who engage in wage discrimination on the basis of gender.

When did women get equal pay for equal work?

Three years later in 1945, the U.S. Congress introduced the Women’s Equal Pay Act, which would have made it illegal to pay women less than men for work of “comparable quality and quantity.” The measure failed to pass, however, and despite campaigns by women’s groups, little progress was made on pay equity during the 1950s.

What was the impact of the Equal Pay Act of 1963? The Equal Pay Act, signed in to law by President John F. Kennedy on June 10, 1963, was one of the first federal anti-discrimination laws that addressed wage differences based on gender. The Act made it illegal to pay men and women working in…