Men and women doing the same work are entitled to earn the same pay.
A federal law, the Equal Pay Act (EPA, 29 U.S.C. §206), requires employers to pay all employees equally for equal work, regardless of their gender. It was passed in 1963 as an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Although the Act protects both women and men from gender discrimination in pay rates, it was passed to help rectify the wage disparity experienced by women workers because of sex discrimination in employment. And in practice, this law has almost always been applied to situations where women are paid less than men for doing similar jobs.
To successfully raise a claim under the Equal Pay Act, you must show that two employees, one male and one female:
- are working in the same place
- are doing equal work, and
- are receiving unequal pay.
However, if the employer can show that the wage disparity has a legitimate basis -- for example, that the higher earner has more seniority or more experience -- the claim will be defeated.
Who Is Covered
Virtually all workers are covered by the Equal Pay Act, which regulates the conduct of the state, local and federal governments and most private employers.
Determining Equal Work
Jobs do not have to be identical for the courts to consider them equal. If two employees are actually doing the same work, it doesn't matter if their titles or job descriptions differ. What counts is the duties they actually perform. In general, the courts have ruled that two jobs are equal for the purposes of the Equal Pay Act when both require equal levels of skill, effort and responsibility and are performed under similar conditions.
There is a lot of room for interpretation here, of course. But the general rule is that if there are only small differences in the skill, effort or responsibility required, two jobs should still be regarded as equal. The biggest problems arise where two jobs are basically the same, but one includes a few extra duties. It is perfectly legal to award higher pay for the extra duties, but some courts have looked askance at workplaces in which the higher-paying jobs with extra duties are consistently reserved for workers of one gender.
The EPA requires more than equal wages. If employees do equal work, they are also entitled to equal fringe benefits, such as insurance coverage, pensions and the use of company equipment. And the EPA applies to forms of compensation other than wages, including vacation time, profit sharing and bonuses.
The EPA and Title VII
The Equal Pay Act was passed one year before Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Both laws prohibit wage discrimination based on gender, but Title VII goes beyond ensuring equal pay for equal work, as it bars discrimination in all aspects of employment, including hiring, firing and promotions. In addition, Title VII broadly prohibits other forms of discrimination, including that based on race, color, religion and national origin.
In cases where both Title VII and the Equal Pay Act apply, the Equal Pay Act offers two potential advantages:- You can file a lawsuit under the Equal Pay Act without first filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opporunity Commission (EEOC).
- Unlike Title VII, the Equal Pay Act does not require proof that the employer acted intentionally when discriminating. That can make an Equal Pay Act case easier to win in court.
However, Title VII boasts one major advantage: You can win more money in a lawsuit under Title VII. Under Title VII, you can ask the judge or jury not only for the wages you lost, but also for compensation for your pain and suffering (compensatory damages). The Equal Pay Act does not provide these remedies -- although in some cases you can ask for double the amount of wages you lost.
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