by Paula Määttä

XII. United States

A. The legislative provisions for equality in pay

The United States uses the concepts of "equal pay for equal work" (Equal Pay Act 1963) and "equal pay for jobs of comparable worth" (under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act 1964).

The United States is a federal state with federal and state legislation. Federal legislation generally takes precedence over state legislation, although the latter can enhance the federal law by providing more extensive protection or coverage. In the area of comparable worth the states are permitted to legislate alongside federal legislation. This is important because federal legislation does not expressly mention the notion of comparable worth. Some states, however, have enacted legislation in the comparable worth area: California, Hawaii, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon and Washington (Bellace 1993, 160-161.) This chapter describes mainly federal law and practice.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex by paying different wages to male and female employees for equal work. The purpose of the Act is to assure men and women equal remuneration for equal work.

In addition, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides in part:

"It shall be an unlawful employmet practice for an employer:

(1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge to any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employ- ment, because of such individuals race, colour, religion, sex, or national origin; or

(2) to limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individuals race, colour, religion, sex, or national origin."

The United States has not ratified the Equal Remuneration Convention No. 100.