Equal Pay Act of 1963

Prohibits sex-based discrimination in wages. The law requires equal pay for women and men for jobs in the same establishment that require substantially similar skills, effort, and responsibility and that are performed under similar working conditions.

Origins and History

Women in the 1960’s represented about 40 percent of the United States labor force. Historically, women in the labor force have earned a median average wage only about three-fifths that of men, and in the 1960’s, lower pay for women was justified based on the belief that a man’s role in society (as breadwinner) entitled him to be paid more than a woman, even if they were performing the same function. A rising social consciousness during the Civil Rights movement resulted in an awareness of the comparatively lower wages women were receiving and of the inequity of this practice.

To remedy this situation, the administration of President John F. Kennedy sponsored equal pay legislation in 1962 to give women equal pay for “comparable” work. The legislation, which ultimately became law in 1963, was revised to read equal pay for “equal” work.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 faced little opposition in Congress, although some debate occurred in the House of Representatives. Proponents such as Congressman Charles Goodell of New York cited a number of reasons for creating the legislation. Simple justice demanded that the inequity be remedied. In addition, this practice meant that businesses that hired lower-paid women instead of higher-paid men had an unfair advantage. Trade unions and their supporters in Congress favored the act because it would protect men from competing with women who were willing to take a lower wage.

The few opponents of the act were concerned that it could be used to harass businesses and would require comparable worth. Supporters were quick to point out that the act was very narrow in scope and required equal pay only when men and women performed virtually identical jobs under the same working conditions. Congressman Paul Findlay of Illinois was concerned that equal pay for women could mean a decline in job opportunities for women if some employers viewed women as less desirable to hire than men at the same wage.

The supporters of the act prevailed, and Congress passed the Equal Pay Act on June 10, 1963, as an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act. The act prohibits discrimination between the sexes in wages only; it does not prohibit other forms of discrimination. It was effected one year later on June 10, 1964. Under the act, a plaintiff must prove four things. First, that the individual is doing the same tasks as an employee of the opposite sex. Second, that the work is substantially equal in terms of skills, effort, and responsibility. Third, that the work is performed under similar working conditions in the same establishment. Fourth, that the other employee is compensated at a higher rate. Small differences in duties or differences in title alone do not justify large pay differences. The employer is allowed four defenses: merit, productivity, seniority, and any factor other than sex.

Impact

The Equal Pay Act did not have a measurable impact on women’s earnings in the 1960’s. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, women’s median annual earnings remained about three-fifths that of men throughout the 1960’s. This trend continued in subsequent decades with only small percentage increases for women. As of 2016, there was still a pay gap between men and women, although the salaries of white women had risen to 95 percent that of men. Research by the National Academy of Sciences and other organizations identified some of the reasons for the earnings gap. Many women work in low-paying occupations, and many men work in higher-paying jobs. Also, more women than men work in part-time jobs, which typically pay less. The Equal Pay Act does not address other forms of wage discrimination, including discrimination based on age, race, national origin, color, religion, or disability. Sex discrimination that does not lead to a difference in wages is also not addressed by the Equal Pay Act.

Subsequent Events

The most important legislation designed to eliminate sex discrimination in private employment is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which was passed in 1964. The Civil Rights Act is more comprehensive than the Equal Pay Act of 1963, covering other aspects of employment in addition to wages. In 2009, about forty-five years after the Equal Pay Act, President Barack Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which extended the statute of limitations in cases of gender-based wage discrimination on the grounds that the act of discrimination took place not only when the initial decision about pay was made, but each time a discriminatory paycheck was received. This was the first significant legislation addressing the wage gap to be enacted since 1964.

Bibliography

Fogel, Walter. The Equal Pay Act: Implications for Comparable Worth. Praeger, 1984.

Pearson, Beth. "50 Years after the Equal Pay Act, Parity Eludes Us." AAUW, 18 Mar. 2013, www.aauw.org/article/50-years-after-the-equal-pay-act-parity-eludes-us. Accessed 29 Nov. 2016.

Thomas, Claire Sherman. Sex Discrimination in a Nutshell. West Publishing Company, 1991.