Congressional Digest

Excerpt

Citing “the unconscionable practice of paying female employees less wages than male employees for the same job,” President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in June 1963. “This measure adds to our laws another structure basic to democracy,” he stated. “It will add protection at the working place to women — the same rights at the working place in a sense that they have enjoyed at the polling place.”

The Act amended the Fair Labor Standards Act to clarify that employers must pay equal wages to men and women who perform jobs that require substantially the same skill, effort, and responsibilit…