Equal Pay Act of 1963
In 1942, Republican congresswoman Winifred C. Stanley from Buffalo, N.Y. introduced H.R. 5056, Prohibiting Discrimination in Pay on Account of Sex, which did not pass at the time. The issue languished until 10 June 1963, when Congress passed the Equal Pay Act ("EPA" or the "Act") as an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act, to "prohibit discrimination on account of sex in the payment of wages by employers."
Equal Pay Act and Prior Salary
In contrast, the 7th Circuit held that employers may rely on an employee’s prior salary to justify wage differentials between genders, without needing to provide an “acceptable business reason” for basing starting pay on this factor. The Seventh Circuit reasoned that requiring employers to have an “acceptable business reason” to base pay on prior salary would be extending the Equal Pay Act from the disparate treatment context to disparate impact. The 8th Circuit follows similar analysis to the 7th Circuit.