Paycheck Fairness Act Reintroduced in Congress

Author: Beth P. Zoller, XpertHR Legal Editor

Following an election campaign season in which "binders of women" and equal pay were points of contention, and an inaugural address in which President Barack Obama told Americans that "our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts," Congress kicked off its new session by revisiting the issue of equal pay and wage discrimination against women. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) reintroduced the Paycheck Fairness Act, S. 84, which is aimed at ending wage discrimination between men and women working in the same position.

The Paycheck Fairness Act would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act and take the Equal Pay Act and Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act one step further by:

  • Requiring employers to show that any difference in wages between men and women is directly related to job performance and not to gender;
  • Prohibiting employers from retaliating against employees who discuss salary information with their co-workers;
  • Providing for greater remedies for wage discrimination by permitting women to seek punitive damages as well as back pay; and
  • Establishing a grant program to empower women in the workplace and strengthen salary negotiation and other workplace skills, and requires the Department of Labor to enhance outreach and training to eliminate wage disparities.

XpertHR will continue to monitor this bill and report on its progress.

Additional Resources

Primer on Employer Obligations Regarding Equal Pay

Employee Management > EEO - Discrimination

EEO Policy

Discrimination Policy