S 3220 · 112th Congress 2011–2013, ended

Paycheck Fairness Act

Latest action · Jun 5, 2012 Motion to proceed to consideration of measure withdrawn in Senate. (consideration: CR S3714)

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

  1. IntroducedMay 22, 2012
  2. Passed SenateNot reached
  3. Passed HouseNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

Paycheck Fairness Act - Amends the portion of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) known as the Equal Pay Act to revise remedies for, enforcement of, and exceptions to prohibitions against sex discrimination in the payment of wages.

Revises the exception to the prohibition for a wage rate differential based on any other factor other than sex. Limits such factors to bona fide factors, such as education, training, or experience.

States that the bona fide factor defense shall apply only if the employer demonstrates that such factor: (1) is not based upon or derived from a sex-based differential in compensation, (2) is job-related with respect to the position in question, and (3) is consistent with business necessity. Makes such defense inapplicable where the employee demonstrates that: (1) an alternative employment practice exists that would serve the same business purpose without producing such differential, and (2) the employer has refused to adopt such alternative practice.

Revises the prohibition against employer retaliation for employee complaints. Prohibits retaliation for inquiring about, discussing, or disclosing the wages of the employee or another employee in response to a complaint or charge, or in furtherance of a sex discrimination investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, or an investigation conducted by the employer.

Makes employers who violate sex discrimination prohibitions liable in a civil action for either compensatory or (except for the federal government) punitive damages.

States that any action brought to enforce the prohibition against sex discrimination may be maintained as a class action in which individuals may be joined as party plaintiffs without their written consent.

Authorizes the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) to seek additional compensatory or punitive damages in a sex discrimination action.

Requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to train EEOC employees and affected individuals and entities on matters involving wage discrimination.

Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities for negotiation skills training programs for girls and women. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Education to issue regulations or policy guidance to integrate such training into certain programs under their Departments.

Directs the Secretary to conduct studies and provide information to employers, labor organizations, and the general public regarding the means available to eliminate pay disparities between men and women.

Establishes the Secretary of Labor's National Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace for an employer who has made a substantial effort to eliminate pay disparities between men and women.

Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to require the EEOC to collect from employers pay information data regarding the sex, race, and national origin of employees for use in the enforcement of federal laws prohibiting pay discrimination.

Directs: (1) the Commissioner of Labor Statistics to continue to collect data on women workers in the Current Employment Statistics survey, (2) the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to use specified types of methods in investigating compensation discrimination and in enforcing pay equity, and (3) the Secretary to make accurate information on compensation discrimination readily available to the public.

Directs the Secretary and the Commissioner [sic] of the EEOC jointly to develop technical assistance material to assist small businesses to comply with the requirements of this Act.

Recorded votes 1

Newest first. Open one to see how every member voted.

Roll callQuestionResultDate
Senate 115Cloture on the Motion to Proceed Rejected52–47Jun 5, 2012

Cosponsors 37

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 22, 2012 to Jun 6, 2012; 31 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
D-MNAl FrankenOriginalMay 22, 2012
D-MNAmy KlobucharOriginalMay 22, 2012
D-CABarbara BoxerOriginalMay 22, 2012
D-MDBenjamin L. CardinOriginalMay 22, 2012
I-VTBernard SandersOriginalMay 22, 2012
D-MICarl LevinOriginalMay 22, 2012
D-DEChristopher A. CoonsOriginalMay 22, 2012
D-MOClaire McCaskillOriginalMay 22, 2012
D-HIDaniel K. AkakaOriginalMay 22, 2012
D-HIDaniel K. InouyeOriginalMay 22, 2012
D-CADianne FeinsteinOriginalMay 22, 2012
D-NJFrank R. LautenbergOriginalMay 22, 2012
D-NVHarry ReidOriginalMay 22, 2012
D-RIJack ReedOriginalMay 22, 2012
D-NHJeanne ShaheenOriginalMay 22, 2012

Actions 10

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Jun 5, 2012Motion to proceed to consideration of measure made in Senate. (consideration: CR S3695-3713, S3713-3714)
  2. Jun 5, 2012Cloture on the motion to proceed to the measure not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 52 - 47. Record Vote Number: 115. (consideration: CR S3713-3714; text: CR S3713-3714)
  3. Jun 5, 2012Motion by Senator Reid to reconsider the vote by which cloture was not invoked on the motion to proceed to the measure (Roll Call Vote No. 115) entered in Senate. (consideration: CR S3714)
  4. Jun 5, 2012Motion to proceed to consideration of measure withdrawn in Senate. (consideration: CR S3714)
  5. Jun 4, 2012Motion to proceed to consideration of measure made in Senate. (consideration: CR S3669)

In the Congressional Record 6

Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.

WhereIn the RecordMembersDate
HouseDebate and remarks H3582Jim McDermott D-WAJun 7, 2012
SenateDebate and remarks S3695, S3697–S3715Cloture motions S3713Recorded votes S3714cloture motion on motion to proceedAmy Klobuchar D-MN (cloture motion), Barbara A. Mikulski D-MD (cloture motion), Barbara Boxer D-CA, Bernard Sanders I-VT (cloture motion), Carl Levin D-MI (cloture motion), Christopher A. Coons D-DE, Daniel K. Inouye D-HI, Dean Heller R-NV, Debbie Stabenow D-MI, Dianne Feinstein D-CA, Frank R. Lautenberg D-NJ (cloture motion), Harry Reid D-NV (cloture motion), Jack Reed D-RI (cloture motion), Jeanne Shaheen D-NH (cloture motion), Jeff Bingaman D-NM (cloture motion), John Boozman R-AR, John F. Kerry D-MA (cloture motion), Kay R. Hagan D-NC, Kent Conrad D-ND (cloture motion), Kirsten E. Gillibrand D-NY (cloture motion), Maria Cantwell D-WA (cloture motion), Mark L. Pryor D-AR (cloture motion), Mark R. Warner D-VA (cloture motion), Mary L. Landrieu D-LA, Michael B. Enzi R-WY, Patrick J. Leahy D-VT, Patty Murray D-WA (cloture motion), Richard Blumenthal D-CT, Richard J. Durbin D-IL, Sheldon Whitehouse D-RI (cloture motion), Tom Harkin D-IA, Tom Udall D-NM (cloture motion)Jun 5, 2012
SenateDebate and remarks S3669–S3671, S3672–S3674Benjamin L. Cardin D-MD, Harry Reid D-NVJun 4, 2012
SenateDebate and remarks S3536, S3612Motions S3612Cloture motions S3612Amy Klobuchar D-MN (cloture motion), Barbara A. Mikulski D-MD (cloture motion), Bernard Sanders I-VT (cloture motion), Carl Levin D-MI (cloture motion), Frank R. Lautenberg D-NJ (cloture motion), Harry Reid D-NV (cloture motion, motion), Jack Reed D-RI (cloture motion), Jeanne Shaheen D-NH (cloture motion), Jeff Bingaman D-NM (cloture motion), John F. Kerry D-MA (cloture motion), Kent Conrad D-ND (cloture motion), Kirsten E. Gillibrand D-NY (cloture motion), Maria Cantwell D-WA (cloture motion), Mark L. Pryor D-AR (cloture motion), Mark R. Warner D-VA (cloture motion), Patty Murray D-WA (cloture motion), Sheldon Whitehouse D-RI (cloture motion), Tom Udall D-NM (cloture motion)May 24, 2012
SenateDebate and remarks S3459Harry Reid D-NVMay 23, 2012

Related bills 3

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

BillTitleRelationshipLatest action
S 797Paycheck Fairness ActIdentical billApr 12, 2011
HR 1519Paycheck Fairness ActRelated billMay 20, 2011
S 3256End Pay Discrimination Through Information ActRelated billJun 4, 2012

Titles 2

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced
A bill to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide more effective remedies to victims of discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis of sex, and for other purposes.
Short Titles as Introduced
Paycheck Fairness Act

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Labor and Employment.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. May 23, 2012Placed on Calendar Senate

Support LegiList

This page is free, carries no paywall, and is built and maintained by one person. If the record here is useful to you, a few dollars keeps it going.

Processed by Stripe in a separate window. LegiList never sees card details.

Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.