Addressing Perpetual Pay Inequity: A Continued Muddying of the Equal Pay Act’s Strict Liability Standard

On March 26, 2024, in Boyer v. United States, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that employers may leverage prior pay as an affirmative defense to Equal Pay Act (EPA) claims where they demonstrate that gender discrimination did not influence previous compensation rates and that federal and private employers are equally subject to the parameters of the EPA. In doing so, the Federal Circuit furthered judicial discourse on the use of prior pay as a defense under the EPA, while extending a significant protection to federal employees. This Comment argues that Boyer errs by imposing a quasi-intent requirement in an analysis of EPA claims and that the Ninth Circuit’s Rizo v. Yovino decision better comports with the Act’s legislative purpose.