Question

10 Do women and men have to be performing identical jobs for the EPA to apply?

A Depends on seniority.

B No

C Not in a merit system.

D Yes

Answer 1

Option B - No

Explanation : A federal law, the Equal Pay Act, requires employers to pay men and women equally for doing the same work - equal pay for equal work. Although EPA protects men and women from sex discrimination in pay rates, it was passed to help rectify the wage disparity experienced by women workers, and in practice, the law has almost always been applied to situations where women are paid less than men for doing similar jobs.

The EPA does not require that the jobs be identical. If two employees are actually doing the same work, it doesn't matter if their titles or job descriptions differ. What counts is the duties the employees actually perform. In general, courts have ruled that two jobs are equal for the purposes of the EPA when both require equal levels of skill, effort and responsibility and are performed under similar conditions.

The following requirements apply :

1. a significant portion of the job tasks are the same for the positions being compared .

2. the two jobs involve similar levels of skill, which means similar levels of experience, ability, education and training.

3. the two jobs involve similar levels of mental and physical exertion.

4. the two jobs involve similar levels of responsibility or accountability and

5. the two jobs are performed under similar working conditions.