Austin Equal Pay Lawyer
The Equal Pay Act (EPA) of 1963 was an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) which attempted to rectify the disparity between men and women’s wages. Seeing this wage gap as a form of gender discrimination, Congress passed the EPA as part of efforts to address and eliminate it.
The EPA has seen both success and failure; though the difference between men and women’s wages has shrunk dramatically since the Act’s inception in 1963, studies show that there is still as much as a 20% differential even today. Furthermore, though the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a broad application of the EPA, enforcement has not been totally successful, as current statistics show.
Austin Equal Pay Enforcement
To bring an equal pay complaint, an employee must demonstrate that different wages are paid to employees of different gender who perform equal jobs under similar working conditions. Equal pay is enforced regardless of an employer’s intent; even if the employer did not willfully or maliciously discriminate against men or women, wage disparities between the sexes are still illegal, unless instituted under:
- A seniority system
- A merit system
- A productivity system
- Another non-gender-based system
The Austin equal pay lawyers from The Melton Law Firm strongly believe in the principles behind the Equal Pay Act. If you need legal representation to bring an equal pay complaint in Austin, contact him today.
