EPA - Equal Pay Act

The EPA amends the minimum wage portion of the Fair Labor Standards Act by prohibiting employers from paying male and female employees different wages for equal work in jobs that require equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and are performed under similar working conditions.  Equal fringe benefits must also be provided to employees of different sexes who perform the same work, even if the benefits cost more with respect to one sex than the other.

 

Key Definitions

Equal skill includes experience, training, ability, and education measured by the performance requirements of the job.  If a skill is not required to perform the job, it can’t be used as a basis for paying one individual more than another.

Equal effort is the measurement of the physical or mental exertion required for the performance of the job.

Equal responsibility means the degree of accountability required in the performance of the job.

Similar working conditions refers to “surroundings” and “hazards” where the job is performed.  Surroundings measure the elements, such as toxic chemicals or fumes, regularly encountered by a worker, their intensity, and their frequency.  Hazards take into account the physical hazards regularly encountered, their frequency, and the severity of injury they can cause.

Coverage

EPA coverage is similar to that of the Fair Labor Standards Act minimum wage requirements.  However, “exempt” employees under the FLSA are not necessarily exempt from the EPA.  Employees covered by the EPA include those:

• who are engaged in commerce,
  
  
• who produce goods for commerce, or
  
  
• who work for an establishment that is engaged in commerce or produces goods for commerce.

Employees who are exempt from EPA include: learners, employees with disabilities, seamen, individuals engaged in domestic service, babysitters, and employees of certain retail or service establishments, seasonal businesses, fisheries, certain agricultural establishments, small newspapers, and small telephone exchanges.

Exceptions

Paying male and female employees different wages for comparable work can be legal if compensation is based on:

• a seniority system,
  
  
• a merit system,
  
  
• a system that measures earnings by quantity and quality of production, or
  
  
• a differential based on any factor other than sex.

Record-Keeping Requirements

Employers are required to keep records in accordance with the FLSA.  Records which describe or explain the basis for payment of any wage differentials to employees of the opposite sex must be kept for at least two years.  These records may include documentation relating to job evaluations; job descriptions; merit, incentive, or seniority systems; and collective bargaining agreements.

 

 

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