According to the U.S. Department of Labor, “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 individuals of all sexes.
All forms of compensation are covered…If there is an inequality in wages between people of different sexes who perform substantially equal jobs, employers must raise wages to equalize pay but may not reduce the wages of other individuals.” Prior to the passage of this law and its signing by President Kennedy, it was legal for employers to pay different wages to men and women in the same job. Despite this law, a gender pay gap still exists.
THE EQUAL PAY ACT OF 1963 DECLARATION OF PURPOSE:
- (a) The Congress hereby finds that the existence in industries engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce of wage differentials based on sex-
- (1) depresses wages and living standards for employees necessary for their health and efficiency;
- (2) prevents the maximum utilization of the available labor resources;
- (3) tends to cause labor disputes, thereby burdening, affecting, and obstructing commerce;
- (4) burdens commerce and the free flow of goods in commerce; and
- (5) constitutes an unfair method of competition.
- (b) It is hereby declared to be the policy of this Act, through exercise by Congress of its power to regulate commerce among the several States and with foreign nations, to correct the conditions above referred to in such industries.