Table 62.-AVERAGE DAILY TIME CONTRIBUTED BY VARIOUS FAMILY MEMBERS IN ALL HOUSEHOLD Work

Source: Data collected by N.Y. State College of Human Ecology, Cornell University, included 1,318 urban-suburban households, Syracuse, N.Y., 1967-68 and 60 rural households, Cortland County, N.Y., 1971. Based on 1971 wage rates.

SELECTED LEGISLATION RELATED TO WOMEN

WORKERS—Part 2

Contents

Brief highlights of major Federal laws and order on sex discrimination.

Equal Pay Act of 1963.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (equal employment opportunity)..

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Guidelines on Discrimination
Because of Sex.

Executive Order 11246, as amended...

Office of Federal Contract Compliance Revised Order No. 4.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (prohibition of sex discrimination).

Minimum wage legislation

Occupational safety and health..

Age discrimination in employment.

Equal Rights Amendment.

Unemployment insurance.
Social security benefits..

Page

144

148

150

169

171

181

186

189

189

190

190

191

193

BRIEF HIGHLIGHTS OF MAJOR FEDERAL LAWS AND ORDER
ON SEX DISCRIMINATION

Equal Pay Act of 1963 (generally effective June 11, 1964)

As an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), this act requires the same pay for men and women doing equal work, requiring equal skill, effort, and responsibility under similar working conditions in the same establishment. Its provisions apply to "wages" in the sense of remuneration for employment (including overtime) and employer contributions for most fringe benefits. Where discrimination exists, pay rates of the lower paid sex must be raised to equal those of the higher paid sex. In a landmark decision, a Federal court rejected a claim that the jobs of men and women have to be identical for them to receive equal pay and asserted that they need only be "substantially equal."

The act, which is enforced by the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division, permits wage differentials based on a bona fide seniority or merit system or a system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of production or any other factor other than sex. It specifically prohibits discharging or discriminating against any employee who files a complaint. Also, it prohibits labor organizations from causing or attempting to cause employers to violate the act.

As of July 1, 1972, the protection of the Equal Pay Act was extended to executive, administrative, and professional employees and to outside sales personnel. As of May 1, 1974, the act was further extended to most employees of Federal, State, and local governments. Among the few categories still unprotected are employees in some small retail or service establishments.

Further information on the Equal Pay Act and other provisions of the FLSA, as well as the Federal law against age discrimination in employment, is available from the field offices of the Wage and Hour Division or from:

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Equal
Employment Opportunity Act of 1972

Title VII prohibits discrimination in employment based on sex, as well as on race, color, religion, and national origin, by employers of 15 or more employees, public and private employment agencies, labor organizations with 15 or more members, and labor-management apprenticeship programs. State and local government agencies and public and private educational institutions are covered, but religious educational institutions or associations are exempt with respect to the employment of individuals of a particular religion. Employers excluded from coverage are Federal and District of Columbia agencies (other than the FederalState employment service system), federally owned corporations, and Indian tribes. Specifically excluded from the definition of "employee" are State and local elected officials and their personal staff and policymaking appointees.

Discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, or national origin is unlawful in hiring or firing; wages; fringe benefits; classifying, referring, assigning, or promoting employees; extending or assigning use of facilities; training, retraining, or apprenticeships; or any other terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which enforces title. VII, has issued "Guidelines on Discrimination Because of Sex." The guidelines, which were last revised April 5, 1972, bar hiring based on stereotyped characterization of the sexes, classification or labeling of "men's jobs" and "women's jobs," or advertising under male or female headings. They specify that the bona fide occupational qualification exemption should be interpreted narrowly, and that State laws which prohibit or limit the employment of women--in certain occupations, or in jobs that require lifting or carrying weights in excess of prescribed limits, during certain hours of the night, for more than a specified number of hours per day or per week, or for certain periods before and after childbirth--conflict with and are superseded by title VII. Accordingly, these "protective" labor laws cannot be used as a reason for refusing to employ women.

The guidelines state that, where State laws require minimum wage and overtime pay for women only, an employer not only may not refuse to hire female applicants to avoid this payment but must provide the same benefits for male employees. Similar provisions apply to rest and meal periods and physical facilities, although if an employer can prove that business necessity precludes providing these benefits to both men and women, the employer need not provide them to members of either sex.