The Pennsylvania Equal Pay Law prohibits employers from discriminating between employees based on sex in any establishment where the employees work by paying employees of one sex a wage rate that is lower than the rate paid to employees of the opposite sex for equal work on jobs that require equal skill, effort, and responsibility and that are performed under similar working conditions (PA Stat. Tit. 43 Sec. 336.1 et seq.). Differences in wages are permissible if based on a seniority or merit system, a system that measures quality or quantity of production, or any other factor other than sex. The law covers all employers, regardless of size, but does not apply to employees covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
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Contracts. An agreement under which an employee or prospective employee agrees to accept a rate of pay lower than that paid to employees of the opposite sex for the same work cannot be used by an employer as a defense (PA Stat. Tit. 43 Sec. 336.5).
