Facts You Should Know About Equal Pay Act

Equal Pay Act
This is a federal law that came into force, making the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Equal Pay Act prohibits pay discrimination on the basis of gender, and it requires the men and women to be given equal pay for the equal work in the same cadre in any organization. Here, the equal pay is given to the employees, when the jobs are substantially equal, though they are not identical and dependent on the content of the job but not on the job title. There are some factors that determine equal pay for men and women; and an employer must ensure giving them equal pay. Each of them are detailed below.

Factors considered for Equal Pay Act
Working conditions – This majorly covers two factors, one is physical surroundings such as, temperature, ventilation and fumes and the other is hazards. These are the two factors that determine the working conditions for equal pay.

Efforts – This is the physical or mental work or effort needed for performing the job. Based on the efforts made by the person, irrespective of whether it is men or women, equal pay is decided. For example, if the men and women are working on the same job, keeping the same efforts, then they are eligible for equal pay.

Skill – Skill is measured by the factors such as education, training, and the ability required for performing the work or job. Here, the skills means, any particular skill or the ability required for performing the job, and not those skills the employee have. Skill doesn’t depend on the qualification, rather it depends on the job they are performing. If job performed by both the employees are equal, then this can be considered under equal pay.

Responsibilities – It is the degree of responsibility needed for performing the job, and minor differences in the responsibility will not justify the differences in pay.

Establishments – Establishment is a physical place of the business, preferably whole business or several places of the business; and in some situations physically separate places will be treated as a single establishment. Prohibition against the compensation discrimination under EPA is applicable only for the jobs that are within the establishments.

Differences in pay is legal when they are based on merit, seniority, quality or quantity of the production or other factors rather than sex. These are called as the affirmative defenses and it is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that they are applied.

This is about the Equal Pay Act and the factors that determine it. An employer must check the compliance of these factors and decide whether an employee is applicable for equal pay or not.