The Equal Pay Act of 1963 is a U.S. law that prohibits employers from paying different wages to men and women who work under similar conditions and whose jobs require the same level of skill, effort, and responsibility. It is part of the amended Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.1 The act was an important milestone in gender equality, though of course wage gaps by gender persist.
Based on the principle of equal pay for equal work, the Equal Pay Act applies to all forms of compensation. Salary, wages, overtime, bonuses, and benefits all factor in, as do stock options, profit-sharing plans, vacation and holiday pay, vehicle allowances, and expense reimbursements.2
The U.S. Department of Labor conducted studies before the act was passed and found that men were earning more than women for the same job in some industries. One key finding, according to reporting by The New York Times, was that some women were earning $8 to $20 less per week than men for the same office work.3 In 2021 dollars that’s about $70 to $180 per week or about...
A former Tasmanian nurse has had her registration cancelled after a tribunal found she falsely claimed qualifications when applying for paramedic and senior nursing jobs. In a decision handed down...