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Written By Digital Content Editor Thomas Ahearn
On June 10, 2023, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) launched a social media video campaign called “Level The Paying Field” to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act (EPA) of 1963 that “prohibits sex-based wage discrimination,” according to a press release from the EEOC.
On June 10, 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed the EPA to require that men and women in the same workplace be given equal pay for equal work. The #LevelThePayingField campaign will last through August 20, 2023, to coincide with the FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) Women’s World Cup 2023.
The EEOC is responsible for enforcing the EPA as well as other federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, or genetic information.
Although the Equal Pay Act was passed 60 years ago, sex-based pay discrimination remains a problem in the workforce. Each year there are still hundreds of pay discrimination charges filed with the EEOC, including more than 950 in Fiscal Year 2022, which was the first increase in Equal Pay Act charges in three years.
“In many cases, women across the country are still paid less than men,” EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows stated in the press release about the campaign. “Whether you are a security guard, an IT analyst, a teacher, or even a professional athlete, we often still have an uneven playing field when it comes to equal pay.”
The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov. For more information on equal pay and compensation, visit www.eeoc.gov/equal-paycompensation-discrimination.
In 2020, women earned 84 percent of what men earned, according to a Pew Research Center analysis, and women would have to work an extra 42 days to make what men did in 2020 based on this estimate. As a result, laws prohibiting employers from asking about salary history have increased to narrow the gender pay gap.
“When an employer has a screening firm perform past employment verifications as part of a background check on a job applicant, that screening firm needs to know which cities, counties, and states prohibit salary history questions,” explains Attorney Lester Rosen, the founder of Employment Screening Resources (ESR).
ESR is a service offering of ClearStar, a leading global Human Resources technology firm specializing in background checks, drug testing, and occupational health screening. ClearStar offers employment verifications for employers that comply with laws that prohibit salary history questions. To learn more, contact ClearStar.
NOTE: Employment Screening Resources (ESR) – a service offering of ClearStar – does not provide or offer legal services or legal advice of any kind or nature. Any information on this website is for educational purposes only.
© 2023 Employment Screening Resources (ESR) – A Service Offering of ClearStar – Making copies of or using any part of the ESR News Blog or ESR website for any purpose other than your own personal use is prohibited unless written authorization is first obtained from ESR.
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