The Equal Pay Act prohibits gender-based wage discrimination for substantially equal work. Under the act’s “equal pay for equal work” standard, employers can’t pay a woman less than a man for doing the same job.

Though the Equal Pay Act was signed into law 60 years ago this June, the gender pay gap stubbornly persists. In 2022, on average, women earned 82% of what men earned. This is only 2% higher than in 2002, when women earned 80% as much as men.

Though the Equal Pay Act provides important remedies for blatant gender-based wage discrimination, it’s ineffective against the more subtle nuances that perpetuate the gender pay gap. The law also provides no remedy against race-based wage discrimination, though pay disparities based on race likewise persist, and pay disparities are even greater for women of color.

State analogues to the Equal Pay Act provide broader protections, however, and may permit a plaintiff to bring claims for unjust employer conduct that is not covered by the federal act.

Filing Under the Equal Pay Act

To succeed on a claim under the Equal Pay Act, a plaintiff must show that they were paid less than someone of a different gender even though they performed “equal work” on jobs of equal skill, effort, and...

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