34-5-1. Declaration of public policy regarding discriminatory wage practices based on sex.

The General Assembly declares that the practice of discriminating on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees of one sex at a lesser rate than the rate paid to employees of the opposite sex for comparable work in jobs which require the same, or essentially the same, knowledge, skill, effort, and responsibility unjustly discriminates against the person receiving the lesser rate; leads to low worker morale, high turnover, and frequent labor unrest; discourages workers paid at the lesser wage rates from training for higher level jobs; curtails employment opportunities; decreases mobility of workers and increases labor costs; impairs purchasing power and threatens the maintenance of an adequate standard of living by such workers and their families; prevents optimum utilization of the labor resources available to the state; threatens the well-being of citizens of this state; and adversely affects the general welfare. It is declared to be the policy of the State of Georgia to eliminate, as rapidly as possible, by exercise of the police power of this state, discriminatory wage practices based on sex.