EQUAL PAY ACT OF 1963

29 U.S.C. 206(d)

Summary and Description The Fair Labor Standards Act, as amended by the Equal Pay Act of 1963, prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of sex in the payment of wages for equal work. The equal pay standard applies to employees subject to the minimum wage requirements of the Act and employees who would be subject except for their status as executive, administrative, or professional employees.

The Equal Pay Act requires the employer to pay equal wages within the establishment to men and women doing substantially equal work on jobs requiring equal skill, effort, and responsibility which are performed under similar working conditions.

The Act does not prohibit payment of wages at lower rates to one sex than the other for equal work where the wage differential is based on a seniority system, a merit system, a system measuring earnings by quantity or quality of production, or on any other factor other than

An employer who is paying a wage differential in violation of the equal pay provisions of the Act may not reduce the wage rate of any employee in order to comply with these provisions. Wages withheld in violation of the equal pay provisions have the status of unpaid minimum wages or unpaid overtime compensation under the Act, and back wages due under the equal pay provisions are subject to the same methods of recovery as any other wages due under the Act.

The law prohibits any labor organization, or its agents, representing employees of an employer having employees subject to the minimum wage provisions of the Act, from causing or attempting to cause the employer to discriminate against an employee in violation of the equal pay provisions.

sex.

Text of Act

(Section Nos. Refer to U.S. Code)

8 206. Minimum wages.

(d) (1) No employer having employees subject to any provisions of this section shall discriminate, within any establishment in which such employees are employed, between employees on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees in such establisment at a rate less than the rate at which he pays wages to employees of the opposite sex in such establishment for equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similiar working conditions, except where such payment is made pursuant to (i) a seniority system; (ii) a merit system; (iii) a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production; or (iv) a differential based on any other factor other than sex: Provided, That an employer who is paying a wage rate differential in violation of this subsection shall not, in order to comply with the provisions of this subsection, reduce the wage rate of any employee.

(2) No labor organization, or its agents, representing employees of an employer having employees subject to any provisons of this section shall cause or attempt to cause such an employer to discriminate against an employee in violation of paragraph (1) of this subsection.

(3) For purposes of administration and enforcement, any amounts owing to any employee which have been withheld in violation of this subsection shall be deemed to be unpaid minimum wages or unpaid overtime compensation under this chapter.

(4) As used in this subsection, the term "labor organization" means any organization of any kind, or any agency or employee representation committee or plan, in which employees participate and which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievance, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions of work.

AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT ACT

OF 1967

Act of December 15, 1967, 29 U.S.C. 621 et seq.

Summary and Description The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, effective June 12, 1968, promotes the employment of the older worker based on ability rather than age; prohibits arbitrary age discrimination in employment; and helps employers and employees find ways to meet problems arising from the impact of age on employment. It protects most individuals who are at least 40 but less than 65 years of age

from discrimination in employment based on age in matters of hiring, discharge, compensation, or other terms, conditions, or privileges of employment. Responsibility for administration and enforcement of this Act rests with the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor. The Act applies to : • Most employers of 20 or more persons, including Federal, State

and local governments. • Public and private employment agencies serving such employ

ers. • Labor organizations with 25 or more members, or which refer

persons for employment to covered employers, or which represent employees of employers covered by the Act.

EXCEPTIONS

The prohibitions of the Act do not apply:

i. where age is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operations of the particular business;

2. where the differentiation is based on reasonable factors other

than age;

3. where the differentiation is caused by observing the terms of a bona fide seniority system or any bona fide employee benefit plan which is not a subterfuge to evade the purposes of the Act;

4. where discharge of an individual is for good cause.

EXEMPTIONS

The Secretary of Labor is authorized to establish such reasonable exemptions to and from any or all provisions of the Act as he may find necessary and proper in the public interest.

RECORDS : POSTING NOTICES

Employers, employment agencies, and labor organizations, must post an officially approved notice in a prominent place where employees may see it, and maintain the records required by the Secretary of Labor.

ENFORCEMENT

The Act is enforced by the Secretary of Labor, who can make investigations, issue rules and regulations for administration of the law, and enforce its provisions by legal proceedings when voluntary compliance cannot be obtained.

Prohibited acts under the age discrimination law are to be deemed prohibited also by the Fair Labor Standards Act. Amounts owing to any person as a result of a violation are to be treated as unpaid compensation under the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act which authorize enforcement through civil actions in the courts.

The Secretary or any aggrieved person may bring suit under the act. Suits to enforce the act must be brought within 2 years after the violation, or in the case of a willful violation, within 3 years.

Before the Secretary begins court action, the act requires him to attempt to secure voluntary compliance by informal conciliation, conference, and persuasion. Before an individual brings court action, he must give the Secretary not less than 60 days' notice of his intention.

This notice must be filed within 180 days of the occurrence of the alleged unlawful practice except when a State has taken action in accordance with its own laws prohibiting age discrimination, then an individual must file within 300 days of the alleged violation. The law provides that after receiving such a notice, the Secretary will notify the prospective defendants and try to eliminate any alleged unlawful practice by informal conciliation, conference, and persuasion.

Following are methods to recover amounts owed which result from violations of this act:

1. The Secretary is authorized to supervise the payment of amounts owed;

2. In certain circumstances, the Secretary may bring suit upon written request of the individual, and in these cases may sue for additional liquidated damages up to an amount equal to the amount owed;

3. An individual may sue for payment, plus attorney's fees and court costs. In the case of willful violations, an additional amount up to the total of the amount owed, may be claimed as liquidated damages. (An employee may not bring suit if he has been paid the amount owed under the supervision of the Secretary, or if the Secretary has filed suit to enjoin the employer from retaining the amount due the employee.)

4. The Secretary may obtain a court injunction to restrain any person from violating the law, including the unlawful withholding of proper compensation. The courts, in enforcement actions, are authorized to grant any relief appropriate to carry out the act's purposes, including among other things judgments compelling employment, reinstatement, or promotion.

Interference with representatives of the Secretary of Labor engaged in duties under the act may be prosecuted criminally and the violator subjected to a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment, or both.

Text of Act

AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT

ACT OF 1967

Public Law 90–202

81 Stat. 602

Section Nos. refer to Public Law

An ACT to prohibit age discrimination in employment

Be it enacted by the Senate and Aouse of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that this Act may be cited as the "Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967”.

STATEMENT OF FINDINGS AND PURPOSE

Sec. 2. (a) The Congress hereby finds and declares that,

(1) in the face of rising productivity and affluence, older workers find themselves disadvantaged in their efforts to retain employment, and especially to regain employment when displaced from jobs;

(2) the setting or arbitrary age limits regardless of potential for job performance has become a common practice, and certain otherwise desirable practices may work to the disadvantage of older persons;

(3) the incidence of unemployment, especially long-term unemployment with resultant deterioration of skill, morale, and employer acceptability is, relative to the younger ages, high among older workers; their numbers are great and growing; and their employment problems grave;

(4) the existence in industries affecting commerce, of arbitrary discrimination in employment because of age, burdens commerce

and the free flow of goods in commerce. (b) It is therefore the purpose of this Act to promote employment of older persons based on their ability rather than age; to prohibit arbitrary age discrimination in employment; to help employers and workers find ways of meeting problems arising from the impact of age on employment.

EDUCATION AND RESEARCH PROGRAM

Sec. 3. (a) The Secretary of Labor shall undertake studies and provide information to labor unions, management, and the general public concerning the needs and abilities of older workers, and their potentials for continued employment and contribution to the economy. In order to achieve the purposes of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall