Pay Discrimination

The Equal Pay Act is a federal law that was passed in 1963 as an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act to prohibit discrimination based on sex in the payment of wages. Under the Equal Pay Act, an employer may not pay a lower wage to employees of one gender than it pays to employees of the other gender. This applies to employees who work within the same establishment and perform equal work at jobs that require equal skill, effort and responsibility. Finally, in order for the Equal Pay Act to be applicable, the jobs must be performed under similar working conditions. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, women's salaries have risen dramatically since the Equal Pay Act's enactment, from 62% of men's earnings in 1970 to 80% in 2004.

The Wage Gap Today

Despite the progress made since the passage of the Equal Pay Act, the wage gap still exists today. In every state in the country, women are earning less than men. According to statistics from the U.S. Women's Bureau and the National Committee on Pay Equity, women earned 77.8 cents for every dollar earned by men in 2007. Part of the reason the wage gap exists is that many women are segregated into a few low-paying occupations. More than half of all women workers hold sales, clerical and service jobs. Studies show that the more an occupation is dominated by women or people of color, the less it pays.

Other factors that contribute to the wage gap include differences in education levels, work experience, and time in the workforce. Although women work fewer paid hours per week than men, among workers who labor more than 40 hours per week, women still earn less than men. Research has found that of employees working 60 hours or more per week at their primary job, women earned only 82% of men's median weekly earnings in 2006. Finally, having children also has a negative effect on women's wages. When a woman has a child, it often requires temporary separation from the workforce, loss of seniority, and loss of training and experience during the separation.

Signs that you are being discriminated against because of your gender include:

• You receive lower wages then men who perform similar job duties and have similar levels of experience
• You are repeatedly denied promotions or training opportunities that are given to men
• You are denied high paying positions that are given to men with the same or lesser qualifications

If you suspect that you are a victim of pay discrimination, you should contact your union, file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or consult with an employment lawyer.

Recent Legislation

On January 29, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which states that the 180-day statute of limitations for filing an equal pay lawsuit resets with each new discriminatory paycheck. At the end of a 19-year career as a supervisor at a Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company plant, Lilly Ledbetter discovered that her male colleagues were earning more money than she was. Although a jury found her employer guilty of pay discrimination, the Supreme Court threw out the case, ruling that she should have filed her suit within 180 days of the date that Goodyear first paid her less than her male peers. Although Ms. Ledbetter will not see any money as a result of this legislation, it will protect the rights of women who file pay discrimination lawsuits in the future.

Another piece of proposed legislation designed to ensure fair pay for women is the Paycheck Fairness Act. If passed, the Paycheck Fairness Act would deter wage discrimination by closing loopholes in the Equal Pay Act and barring retaliation against workers who disclose their wages. Under the Paycheck Fairness Act, women would also be able to receive the same remedies for pay discrimination based on sex as those employees who are subject to discrimination based on race or national origin. This Act was introduced in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. It was passed by the House on January 9, 2009.

Helpful Links

• Urge Your Senators to Support the Paycheck Fairness Act
• Equal Pay & Compensation Discrimination Information from the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission