USA's Equal Pay Act of 1963 Signed on June 10,1963

 

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 is a US Federal Law amending the Fair Labor Standards Act, aimed at abolishing wage disparity based on sex

The law provides (in part) that -

No employer having employees subject to any provisions of this section [section 206 of title 29 of the United States Code] 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 establishment 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 similar working conditions, except where such payment is made pursuant to (i) a seniority system; (ii)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 [ . . . . ]

 

 It was signed into law on June 10, 1963, by US President John F Kennedy as part of his New Frontier  Program.

 In passing the bill,the US Congress stated that Sex Discrimination -

• depresses wages and living standards for employees necessary for their health and efficiency;
• prevents the maximum utilization of the available labor resources;
• tends to cause labor disputes, thereby burdening, affecting, and obstructing commerce;
• burdens commerce and the free flow of goods in commerce; and
• constitutes an unfair method of competition