Equal Pay for Equal Work

Today, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division (@CivilRights) joined the Equal Pay Twitter Chat hosted by the Department of Labor to discuss the gap in pay between women and men. Participants were invited to ask questions related to pay equality using the hashtag, “#equalpaychat.” Pay equality is an issue that affects all Americans. The Department is part of the National Equal Pay Task Force, which was established by President Barack Obama to crack down on violations of equal pay. The Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation section enforces against state and local government employers the provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, and other federal laws prohibiting employment practices that discriminate on grounds of race, sex, religion, and national origin. During the chat, staff from the Civil Rights Division answered questions related to pay discrimination by public employers and offered tips and links to information about equal pay. For example, the department tweeted about the damage done when compensation is kept secret: During the chat, the Department of Justice joined the Department of Labor in recognizing the winners of the Equal Pay App Challenge, which asked developers to address the wage gap through innovative use of data. Officials from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) also participated in the chat. For more information and resources about equal pay, visit http://www.dol.gov/equalpay. | Follow the Civil Rights Division on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/civilrights.