EEO LAW BASICS
CHAPTER 6
THE EQUAL PAY ACT OF 1963 (“EPA”)

1) “Employers” as defined broadly in the Fair Labor Standards Act to include anyone who suffers or permits another to work, but subject to certain exemptions, including:

a) Private employers

b) Labor organizations

c) State and federal employees

d) Certain industries and classes of employers are excluded, such as certain agricultural and domestic workers, some not-for-profits, elected officials, and military personnel

American Bar Association // Section of Labor and Employment Law
Equal Employment Opportunity Committee // EEO Law Basics // Spring 2006

1) Payment of unequal wages between men and women

2) On the basis of sex

3) For “equal work,” which is work

a) Requiring equal skill, effort, and responsibility

b) Performed under similar working conditions

4) A labor organization may not cause or attempt to cause an employer to discriminate in wages on the basis of sex American Bar Association // Section of Labor and Employment Law
Equal Employment Opportunity Committee // EEO Law Basics // Spring 2006

1) The plaintiff must make out a prima facie case that she is performing equal work but receiving less pay than a male employee in the same establishment.

2) An employer may show that difference in pay is attributable to sex-neutral systems:

a) Seniority system

b) Merit system

c) A system that measures earnings by quality or quantity of work

d) A premium for completing a bona fide training program

3) An employer may show the difference in pay is based on any other factor other than sex. American Bar Association // Section of Labor and Employment Law
Equal Employment Opportunity Committee // EEO Law Basics // Spring 2006

1) Statute of limitations is two years, three years if the violation is “willful”

2) No administrative filing requirement

3) EEOC

4) Private lawsuits:

a) Individual action

b) Collective action with “opt in” provision

American Bar Association // Section of Labor and Employment Law
Equal Employment Opportunity Committee // EEO Law Basics // Spring 2006

1) Back wages

2) Liquidated damages or prejudgment interest

3) Injunctive relief for EEOC

4) No punitive damages, except perhaps in retaliation cases

5) No compensatory damages

6) Attorneys fees and costs American Bar Association // Section of Labor and Employment Law
Equal Employment Opportunity Committee // EEO Law Basics // Spring 2006