Pay Discrimination in the American Public School System

The gender wage gap is a hot topic trending in the national news recently. Due in part to the signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Act Pay by President Obama in 2009 and the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 occurring earlier this year, everyone seems to be discussing the pay disparity among men and women recently. Although it is a good thing people are opening their eyes and minds to this issue, it is by no means a new problem. The pay disparity between men and women has been an ongoing issue for decades. Much has been done over the years to try to remedy the problem, and although great advancements have been made, the issue still exists.

Several laws and acts have been created to help eliminate pay disparity. On June 10, 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed into federal law The Equal Pay Act of 1963 to abolish wage disparity and put an end to the “unconscionable practice of paying female employees less wages than male employees for the same job,” (Huffington, 2013). The Equal Pay Act of 1963 requires men and women in the same workplace be given equal pay for equal work. All forms of pay are covered under this law including, but not limited to, salary, overtime, bonuses, vacation and holiday pay, insurance, and benefits (EEOC, n.d.). Equal pay for equal work does not mean the job has to be identical, but it must be sustainably equal. The EPA has helped make significant strides in the pay disparity between men and women since its inception. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the wage gap has been steadily shrinking over the last three decades. In 1979, women made 62% of what men earned. In 2012, that number has improved to 81% (Sauter, 2013).

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Act Pay was signed into law on January 29, 2009, by President Barack Obama as the first new law of his administration. The signing of this act was another victory for the equal pay for equal work enforcement and also helped fuel the recent resurgence of national news coverage on the gender wage gap issue. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Act reinstates prior law but changed the statute of limitations for filing complaints. Under the Equal Pay Act of 1963, an employee had to make a formal complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) within 180 days of a discriminatory pay decision or practice being adopted. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Act Pay declares that pay discrimination claims on the basis of sex, race, national origin, age, religion, and disability can accrue. Thus, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act declares an unlawful employment practice occurs not only when a discriminatory pay decision or practice is adopted but also when the employee is subject to that decision or practice in the future. Therefore, an employee is discriminated against every time compensation is paid. This change makes it possible for an employee to file a formal complaint with the EEOC within 180 days of each paycheck received