White Paper
Equal Pay Act
July 1, 2018
On August 1, 2016, Gov Baker signed a comprehensive pay equity bill known as “The Act to Establish Pay Equity”, amending the MA Equal Pay Act (MEPA) of 1945. The amended law is in effect as of July 1, 2018.
The original MA law, and laws such as the federal Equal Pay Act or Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, required employers to pay men and women the same for doing the same job. The 2016 amendment of the MA Equal Pay Act takes this further by mandating men and women be paid the same for doing different but comparable jobs. The Act defines “comparable work” as substantially similar in skill, effort and responsibility, performed under similar working conditions.
Author: Karin Brosnahan, Managing Director, HR Solutions