This article originally appeared in Forbes.

Fifty three years ago today, President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act. The law made sex-based discrimination in pay illegal. A year later, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 made it illegal to discriminate in the workplace based on sex.

In the last half century, American women have made tremendous strides in the workplace. But if you listen to some leading politicians, you would think that American women are still stuck in the 1960s and a “Mad Men” workplace. Prominent Democrats are using the anniversary of the Equal Pay Act to call for new legislation, the Paycheck Fairness Act, to fix supposedly rampant sex-based pay discrimination.

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi tweeted the following:

On the 53rd anniversary of #EqualPayAct, we call on Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act! #WomenSucceed

Representative Dina Titus joined in:

On 53rd anniversary of #EqualPayAct, Congress should be discussing & passing the #PaycheckFairnessAct = pay 4 = work

Representative Lois Capps echoed:

The #EqualPayAct became law on this day in 1963. Today, we’re still working to make equal pay a reality for American women & families.

Representative Ruben Gallego weighed in:

The #EqualPayAct become law 53 years ago today. We must continue to fight for long overdue equal pay for equal work.

Expect such calls for equal pay to continue through November, particularly as presumptive nominee Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton works to attract women voters. But American women should be leery of new laws and regulations that will further involve government in workplace negotiations. Even the Washington Post editorialized againstthe Paycheck Fairness Act.

 This approach also could make employers vulnerable to attack for responding to market forces. Take an employer who gives a hefty raise to a valued male employee who has gotten a job offer from a competitor. Would a court agree that the raise advanced a legitimate business purpose or could the employer be slammed unless he also bumps up the salary of a similarly situated female employee?”

With so many politicians and Hollywood stars trumpeting the statistic that American women only earn 78 cents for every dollar their male counterparts earn, many women accept the argument that additional government action is needed. But a closer look at the details on differences in male and female employees’ pay shows that individual preferences, including those related to work-life balance issues, account for much of the supposed 78 gender pay gap, as I’ve previously discussed.

American women should read the fine print before buying politicians’ claims about equal pay.