Section 1; Title1. This bill may be cited as the "Paycheck Fairness Act"
Section 2; FindingsCongress finds the following:
1. Women have entered the workforce in record numbers over the past 50 years.
2. Despite the enactment of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, many women continue to earn significantly lower pay than men for equal work. These pay disparities exist in both the private and governmental sectors. In many instances, the pay disparities can only be due to continued intentional discrimination or the lingering effects of past discrimination.
3. The existence of such pay disparities—
a) depresses the wages of working families who rely on the wages of all members of the family to make ends meet;
b) undermines women's retirement security, which is often based on earnings while in the workforce;
c) prevents the optimum utilization of available labor resources;
d) has been spread and perpetuated, through commerce and the channels and instrumentalities of commerce, among the workers of the several States;
e) burdens commerce and the free flow of goods in commerce;
f) constitutes an unfair method of competition in commerce;
g) leads to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce and the free flow of goods in commerce;
h) interferes with the orderly and fair marketing of goods in commerce; and
i) in many instances, may deprive workers of equal protection on the basis of sex in violation of the 5th and 14th Amendments.
4. a) Artificial barriers to the elimination of discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis of sex continue to exist decades after the enactment of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a et seq.).
b) These barriers have resulted, in significant part, because the Equal Pay Act of 1963 has not worked as Congress originally intended. Improvements and modifications to the law are necessary to ensure that the Act provides effective protection to those subject to pay discrimination on the basis of their sex.
c) Elimination of such barriers would have positive effects, including—
i) providing a solution to problems in the economy created by unfair pay disparities;
ii) substantially reducing the number of working women earning unfairly low wages, thereby reducing the dependence on public assistance;
iii) promoting stable families by enabling all family members to earn a fair rate of pay;
iv) remedying the effects of past discrimination on the basis of sex and ensuring that in the future workers are afforded equal protection on the basis of sex; and
v) ensuring equal protection pursuant to Congress’ power to enforce the 5th and 14th Amendments.
5) The Department of Internal Affairs and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have important and unique responsibilities to help ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work.
6) The Department of Internal Affairs is responsible for—
a) collecting and making publicly available information about women’s pay;
b) ensuring that companies receiving Federal contracts comply with anti-discrimination affirmative action requirements of Executive Order 11246 (relating to equal employment opportunity);
c) disseminating information about women’s rights in the workplace;
d)helping women who have been victims of pay discrimination obtain a remedy; and
e) being proactive in investigating and prosecuting equal pay violations, especially systemic violations, and in enforcing all of its mandates.
7.The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is the primary enforcement agency for claims made under the Equal Pay Act of 1963, and issues regulations and guidance on appropriate interpretations of the law.
8.With a stronger commitment by the Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to their responsibilities, increased information as a result of the amendments made by this Act to the Equal Pay Act of 1963, wage data, and more effective remedies, women will be better able to recognize and enforce their rights.
9. Certain employers have already made great strides in eradicating unfair pay disparities in the workplace and their achievements should be recognized.
Section 3; Enhanced Enforcement of Equal Pay Requirements1. Section 6(d)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(d)(1))
link is amended—
a) by striking “No employer having” and inserting “(A) No employer having”;
b) by striking “any other factor other than sex” and inserting “a bona fide factor other than sex, such as education, training, or experience”; and
c) by inserting at the end the following:
(B) The bona fide factor defense described in subparagraph (A)(iv) shall apply only if the employer demonstrates that such factor (i) is not based upon or derived from a sex-based differential in compensation; (ii) is job-related with respect to the position in question; (iii) is consistent with business necessity; and (iv) accounts for the entire differential in compensation at issue. Such defense shall not apply where the employee demonstrates that an alternative employment practice exists that would serve the same business purpose without producing such differential and that the employer has refused to adopt such alternative practice.
“(C) For purposes of subparagraph (A), employees shall be deemed to work in the same establishment if the employees work for the same employer at workplaces located in the same county or similar political subdivision of a State. The preceding sentence shall not be construed as limiting broader applications of the term ‘establishment’ consistent with rules prescribed or guidance issued by the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission..
2. Section 15 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 215)
link is amended—
a) in subsection (a)—
i) in paragraph (3), by striking “employee has filed” and all that follows and inserting “employee—
(A) has made a charge or filed any complaint or instituted or caused to be instituted any investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action under or related to this Act, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or has testified or is planning to testify or has assisted or participated in any manner in any such investigation, proceeding, hearing or action, or has served or is planning to serve on an industry committee; or
(B) has inquired about, discussed, or disclosed the wages of the employee or another employee;
;
b) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; or”; and
c) by adding at the end the following:
(6) to require an employee to sign a contract or waiver that would prohibit the employee from disclosing information about the employee’s wages.;
and
d) by adding at the end the following:
(c) Subsection (a)(3)(B) shall not apply to instances in which an employee who has access to the wage information of other employees as a part of such employee’s essential job functions discloses the wages of such other employees to individuals who do not otherwise have access to such information, unless such disclosure is in response to a complaint or charge or in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action under section 6(d), including an investigation conducted by the employer. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit the rights of an employee provided under any other provision of law..
3. Section 16(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(b))
link is amended—
a) by inserting after the first sentence the following: “Any employer who violates section 6(d) shall additionally be liable for such compensatory damages, or, where the employee demonstrates that the employer acted with malice or reckless indifference, punitive damages as may be appropriate, except that the United States shall not be liable for punitive damages.”;
b) in the sentence beginning “An action to”, by striking “either of the preceding sentences” and inserting “any of the preceding sentences of this subsection”;
c) in the sentence beginning “No employees shall”, by striking “No employees” and inserting “Except with respect to class actions brought to enforce section 6(d), no employee”;
d) by inserting after the sentence referred to in paragraph (3), the following: “Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal law, any action brought to enforce section 6(d) may be maintained as a class action as provided by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.”; and
e) in the sentence beginning “The court in”—
i) by striking “in such action” and inserting “in any action brought to recover the liability prescribed in any of the preceding sentences of this subsection”; and
ii) by inserting before the period the following: “, including expert fees”.
4. Section 16(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(c))
link is amended—
a) in the first sentence—
i) by inserting “or, in the case of a violation of section 6(d), additional compensatory or punitive damages, as described in subsection (b),” before “and the agreement”; and
ii) by inserting before the period the following: “, or such compensatory or punitive damages, as appropriate”;
b) in the second sentence, by inserting before the period the following: “and, in the case of a violation of section 6(d), additional compensatory or punitive damages, as described in subsection (b)”;
c) in the third sentence, by striking “the first sentence” and inserting “the first or second sentence”; and
d) in the last sentence—
i) by striking “commenced in the case” and inserting “commenced—
“(1) in the case”;
ii) by striking the period and inserting “; or”; and
iii) by adding at the end the following:
“(2) in the case of a class action brought to enforce section 6(d), on the date on which the individual becomes a party plaintiff to the class action.”.
Section 4; Research, Education and Outreach1. The Secretary of Internal Affairs shall conduct studies and provide information to employers, labor organizations, and the general public concerning the means available to eliminate pay disparities between men and women, including—
a) conducting and promoting research to develop the means to correct expeditiously the conditions leading to the pay disparities;
b) publishing and otherwise making available to employers, labor organizations, professional associations, educational institutions, the media, and the general public the findings resulting from studies and other materials, relating to eliminating the pay disparities;
c) sponsoring and assisting State and community informational and educational programs;
d) providing information to employers, labor organizations, professional associations, and other interested persons on the means of eliminating the pay disparities;
e) recognizing and promoting the achievements of employers, labor organizations, and professional associations that have worked to eliminate the pay disparities; and
f) convening a national summit to discuss, and consider approaches for rectifying, the pay disparities.
Section 5; Collection of Pay Information1. Section 709 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–8) is amended by adding at the end the following:
Quote
(f) (1) Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Commission shall issue regulations to provide for the collection from employers of compensation data and other employment-related data (including hiring, termination, and promotion data) disaggregated by the sex, race, and national origin of employees.
(2) In carrying out paragraph (1), the Commission shall have as its primary consideration the most effective and efficient means for enhancing the enforcement of Federal laws prohibiting pay discrimination. For this purpose, the Commission shall consider factors including the imposition of burdens on employers, the frequency of required reports (including which employers should be required to prepare reports), appropriate protections for maintaining data confidentiality, and the most effective format for reports containing such data..
Section 6; Prohibitions relating to prospective employees' salary and benefit history1. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 7 the following new section:
SEC. 8. REQUIREMENTS AND PROHIBITIONS RELATING TO WAGE, SALARY, AND BENEFIT HISTORY.
“(a) In General.—It shall be an unlawful practice for an employer to—
“(1) rely on the wage history of a prospective employee in considering the prospective employee for employment, including requiring that a prospective employee’s prior wages satisfy minimum or maximum criteria as a condition of being considered for employment;
“(2) rely on the wage history of a prospective employee in determining the wages for such prospective employee, except that an employer may rely on wage history if it is voluntarily provided by a prospective employee, after the employer makes an offer of employment with an offer of compensation to the prospective employee, to support a wage higher than the wage offered by the employer;
“(3) seek from a prospective employee or any current or former employer the wage history of the prospective employee, except that an employer may seek to confirm prior wage information only after an offer of employment with compensation has been made to the prospective employee and the prospective employee responds to the offer by providing prior wage information to support a wage higher than that offered by the employer; or
“(4) discharge or in any other manner retaliate against any employee or prospective employee because the employee or prospective employee—
“(A) opposed any act or practice made unlawful by this section; or
“(B) took an action for which discrimination is forbidden under section 15(3).
“(b) Definitions.—In this section:
“(1) WAGES; COMPENSATION.—The term ‘wages’ or ‘compensation’ has the meaning given the term ‘wages’ in section 6(d).
“(2) WAGE HISTORY.—The term ‘wage history’ means the wages paid to the prospective employee by the prospective employee’s current employer or previous employer.”.
(b) Penalties.—Section 16 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 216) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(f) (1) Any person who violates the provisions of section 8 shall—
“(A) be subject to a civil penalty of $5,000 for a first offense, increased by an additional $1,000 for each subsequent offense, not to exceed $10,000; and
“(B) be liable to each employee or prospective employee who was the subject of the violation for special damages not to exceed $10,000 plus attorneys' fees, and shall be subject to such injunctive relief as may be appropriate.
“(2) An action to recover the liability described in paragraph (1)(B) may be maintained against any employer (including a public agency) in any Federal or State court of competent jurisdiction by any one or more employees or prospective employees for and on behalf of—
“(A) the employees or prospective employees; and
“(B) other employees or prospective employees similarly situated."
Section 7; Implementation1. All provisions that do not have a specified date of implementation in this Act shall be implemented 6 months after the passage of this legislation into law.
2. The Secretary of Internal Affairs and the Commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission shall jointly develop technical assistance material to assist small businesses in complying with the requirements of this Act and the amendments made by this Act.
3. A small business shall be exempt from the provisions of this Act, and the amendments made by this Act, to the same extent that such business is exempt from the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 pursuant to clauses (i) and (ii) of section 3(s)(1)(A) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 203(s)(1)(A)).
Section 8; Rule of Construction1. Nothing in this Act, or in any amendments made by this Act, shall affect the obligation of employers and employees to fully comply with all applicable immigration laws, including any penalties, fines, or other sanctions.
