Research Project

Unit VIII Research Project

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Unit VIII Research Project

The U.S. Federal Pay Regulation I chose was the Equal Pay Act. The Equal Pay Act is a United States federal law amending the Fair Labor Standards Act, aimed at abolishing wage disparity based on sex. It was signed into law on June 10, 1963, by John F. Kennedy as part of his New Frontier Program. The Equal Pay Act required for men and women doing “substantially similar” work in terms of skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions. (Milkovich, Newman, Gerhart, 2014)

The history of the Equal Pay Act started during World War II when labor shortages brought large numbers of women in to the workplace. By 1945, women made up 37% of the civilian workforce. While women had traditionally earned less than men for doing similar work, male workers feared that this growing source of cheap labor would replace them or lower their wages. However, as men began to join the military and women began to take over their civilian jobs, unions started to advocate for equal pay. They felt that this would prevent employers from undercutting future wages for men. Also, the National War Labor Board endorsed the idea of equal pay for equal work. They issued a General Order supporting equal pay for men and women for work that was of "comparable quality and quantity." In 1945, Congress introduced the Women's Equal Pay Act which contained the phrase "comparable work." This was described as equal pay for different jobs in the same workplace. Pay was to be determined by comparing the worth and/or difficulty of the jobs. (National Park Service, n.d)

The Equal Pay Act was created by, Esther Peterson who was appointed to head the Women's Bureau in the Department of Labor. She was responsible for administering gender-issue labor laws. At her persistence, President Kennedy established the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women to develop recommendations for achieving equality. She gathered...