Equal Pay Act of 1963
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 29 U.S.C. §206(d), requires employers to pay males and females the same wages for equal work. As such, the Act applies only to gender discrimination in pay. Claims of unequal pay based on race or another protected classification must, e.g., be pursued under Title VII, or other discrimination law.
All employees working for an employer engaged in any industry affecting interstate commerce are protected by the Act, which contains no minimum number of employees to trigger its coverage. The courts have consistently interpreted the term “engaged in an industry affecting interstate commerce” in a broad manner, in order to provide the most expansive possible coverage of the Act. Under the Act, an employer may not (with exceptions, of course) pay lower wages to one gender, for “equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions.”
Claims under the Equal Pay Act differ from other discrimination cases in the damages available; and because a claim under the Equal Pay Act does not have to be filed with an administrative agency before the claim can be litigated in federal court. Claims under the Equal Pay Act may be filed directly in state or federal court, without first filing the claim with the PHRC or EEOC.