Equal Pay and Discrimination Against Women

The Equal Pay Act (EPA) of 1963 is a federal law that states that there should be no pay discrimination on the basis of gender.

 

The EPA is an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act and was aimed to correworking-1219889_960_720ct the pay inequity that existed between men and women who perform the same job duties.

After a year that the EPA was passed, there came the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which extended the workers’ rights with respect to discrimination in the workplace. With EPA, it only addressed pay discrimination between men and women with Title VII, it prohibits all forms of employment discrimination such as race, religion, national origin and gender.

However, take note that the requirements for filing and the remedies provided by the EPA and Title VII differ. If you are considering filing under either the EPA or Title VII, or even both, it is recommended that you contact a lawyer to discuss the facts of your case.

 

The Equal Pay Act
The EPA prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in the payment of wages or benefits, where men and women perform duties of similar skill, effort, and responsibility for the same employer under same working conditions. It governs the conduct of all employers. That is federal, state and local governments as well as private employers.

With EPA, it requires that employees be paid at the same rate. However, the total compensation may differ according to productivity or quality of work. It also requires equal distribution of employment benefits like health insurance, pensions, flex spending accounts, vacation time, bonuses, and any other fringe benefits

 

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
On the other hand, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act is a broad anti-employment discrimination law. It prohibits all forms of discrimination in the workplace including gender, race, national origin, and religion. However, it covers only employers who have employed 15 or more employees for at least 20 weeks in the previous and current calendar year.

Whether you will file under the EPA or Title VII, or both, it is important that you are aware of the requirements for each, and also its statutes of limitation.

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