Equal Pay Act: 46 Years Old but Still More Work to be Done!

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Anthony dollar coinThe Equal Pay Act, which made it illegal for employers to pay unequal wages to men and women who perform substantially equal work, was 46 years old last week. This Act helped to narrow the wage gap; however, significant disparities still exist that must be addressed. For example, in Pennsylvania women earn only 75% of men in similar positions.

In January, the House of Representative passed the Paycheck Fairness Act. If passed by the Senate, this Act would strengthen current laws against wage discrimination and provide tools to enable the federal government to be more proactive in this fight by:
  • closing loopholes in the Equal Pay Act and barring retaliation against workers who disclose their wages
  • allowing women and men to receive the same remedies for sex-based pay discrimination that are currently available to those subject to discrimination based on race and national origin
  • improving the collection of pay information by the Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to enable those agencies to evaluate pay disparities, facilitate class actions in Equal Pay Act claims, and spark the development of salary negotiation skills training.
To send a letter to your Senators to urge their support for this important piece of legislation please click here.

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