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; 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 5; 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.