Equal Pay Act of 1963
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 is a United States labor law amending the Fair Labor Standards Act, aimed at abolishing wage disparity based on sex (see Gender pay gap). It was signed into law on June 10, 1963, by John F. Kennedy as part of his New Frontier Program. In passing the bill, Congress stated that sex discrimination:The law provides (in part) that:
Terranova Homes &amp; Care Limited v Service and Food Workers Union Nga Ringa Tota Incorporated
The enactment of the Employment Equity Act 1990 and its subsequent repeal by the Employment Contracts Act 1991 was argued by TerraNova to be indicative of Parliament’s policy decision against legislating for pay equity; a decision which the courts should not subvert by reinterpreting the Equal Pay Act 1972. Citing similar arguments already rejected by the Employment Court, regarding the lack of assistance from comparing and attempting to construe the intentions of differently constituted Parliaments at different times, the Court of Appeal dismissed TerraNova's argument. They acknowledged the principle of legislative harmony, which gave some merit to TerraNova's suggestion that the Employment Court's interpretation of the 1972 Act was disruptive to the overall legislative scheme, and conceded that the Employment Court was too dismissive of this point. However, they ultimately concluded that the assistance this point provided was limited, and therefore not determinative of this issue; they therefore agreed with the Employment Court's decision on this point.