What is the equal pay act?

The Equal Pay Act (EPA) is a federal labor law which requires employers in North Carolina to pay their employees equally for work of equal value, regardless of sex. The EPA, which was enacted in 1963, requires an employer to pay a male and female working in the same establishment equal wages for the same job. This applies to jobs that require the same skill, effort and responsibility, and are performed under similar working conditions. Although the primary purpose of the EPA is to prohibit discrimination based solely on the basis of sex, the Act also prohibits discrimination on the basis of race and other protected characteristics. This means that North Carolina employers must pay employees of different races and national origins the same wage for equal work. Under the EPA, employers may not reduce the wages of either sex to equalize pay. They must raise the wages of the lower-paid sex to match the higher-paid sex’s wages. Additionally, employers may not retaliate against employees who complain of unequal pay or disclose their wages to other employees. The EPA is enforced by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which is responsible for investigating claims of unequal pay and taking appropriate legal action. It is important to note that the EPA does not prohibit employers from offering employees different wages based on their performance or based on merit or seniority systems. Therefore, an employer may choose to pay its employees different wages based on factors other than sex, as long as those factors are reasonable and non-discriminatory.

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What is the equal pay act?

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