Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
Equal Pay Act of 1963 Overview
The Equal Pay Act is a federal labor law that amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, prohibiting gender-based wage discrimination in the United States. The Equal Pay Act was signed into law in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy. The law can be summed up by the phrase “equal pay for equal work” — that is, regardless of gender, people should not be paid different wages or benefits for doing jobs that require the same skills and responsibilities.
Now more than half a century old, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 was one of the first laws in American history intended to target gender discrimination in the workplace. When the law was introduced, women were still earning less than two-thirds of what men in the same positions were being paid.
What Did the Equal Pay Act Attempt to End?
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was an attempt to end the centuries-old issue of gender-based pay discrimination — which created what is known as a “gender pay gap,” or a gap between what men and women are paid for doing the same work. During World War I and World War II, many American women began taking over the factory jobs that men left behind when they enlisted in the military.
Some efforts were made to provide equal pay for equal work before the Equal Pay Act. For instance, in 1942, during World War II, the National War Labor Board endorsed policies that would provide women pay equity when they took positions that directly replaced male workers.
Legislators proposed the Women’s Equal Pay Act in 1945, meant to provide more overarching mandates for equal pay for equal work, but the measure failed to pass.
Even after the Equal Pay Act became law, President Kennedy noted that “much remains to be done to achieve full equality of economic opportunity” for women. Indeed, even today, women still make only a fraction of what men make. In 2018, women were making just 81.1 percent of what men earned. In a few occupations, women had higher median earnings than men, but these occupations tend to be lower-paying overall, such as food service.
Moreover, it is important to note that the issue of pay equity is made complicated by the intersection of gender, race, class, and more.
For instance, while women overall are still paid less than men, women of color are typically earn even less. In fact, Black women were paid 61 cents for every dollar paid to a white man, Native American women made 58 cents, and Latinas made 53 cents, according to recent figures from the National Partnership for Women & Families.
What Protections Does it Provide?
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 not only protects workers from unequal wages for the same work, it covers all forms of compensation, including salary, bonuses, vacation, holiday pay, and other benefits.
The law continues to protect employees who believe they have been discriminated against based on their pay and allows these workers to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or directly sue their employer in court.
Employees who come forward about pay discrimination issues may be worried about retaliation from employers, but the law prohibits employers from any kind of retaliation (demotion, firing, etc.) against employees who fight back against discriminatory workplace practices.
Are There any Statute of Limitations?
The original statute of limitations on filing a gender pay discrimination complaint with the EEOC — 180 days after an employer decided to pay a worker less, even if the worker didn’t discover the unfair pay until later — was overturned in 2009 with President Obama’s signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. It was named for a woman who received unequal pay for years but didn’t know about it until after her retirement because employees were prohibited from discussing their wages with one another.
Per the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the 180-day period begins on the date of the last paycheck with discriminatory wages, not on the date the employer decides how much to pay. This 180-day limit can be extended to 300 days if a state or local agency enforces a law prohibiting the same kind of employment discrimination.
The Equal Pay Act allows for taking a discriminatory employer directly to court as well, without first filing a complaint with the EEOC. The deadline for filing a lawsuit is two years from the day you received the last discriminatory paycheck, extended to three years in cases of willful discrimination.
Have Any Equal Pay Act Lawsuits Been Filed?
More and more women are turning to litigation over gender-based discrimination reflected in their pay.
For instance, in 2013, three female stock brokers filed a class action lawsuit against Goldman Sachs on behalf of some 3,000 women, alleging the firm systematically paid women less than men for the same work, according to Vox.
Nike was also hit with a class action lawsuit filed under the Equal Pay Act for systemic gender pay discrimination, accusing the company of historically ignoring sexual harassment.
Current and former female executives at Disney sued the entertainment giant over “rampant gender pay discrimination,” even at the executive level, the Los Angeles Times reports.
If you have experienced workplace wage discrimination on the basis of gender, you may be able to join a gender pay gap and equal pay lawsuit investigation and pursue compensation.
Filing a lawsuit can be a daunting prospect, so Top Class Actions has laid the groundwork by connecting you with an experienced attorney. Consulting an attorney can help you determine if you have a claim, navigate the complexities of litigation, and maximize your potential compensation.
