Paycheck Fairness Act
Latest action · Apr 3, 2019 Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 53.
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.
- IntroducedJan 30, 2019
- Passed HouseMar 27, 2019
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Paycheck Fairness Act
This bill addresses wage discrimination on the basis of sex. It amends equal pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to (1) restrict the use of the bona fide factor defense to wage discrimination claims, (2) enhance nonretaliation prohibitions, (3) make it unlawful to require an employee to sign a contract or waiver prohibiting the employee from disclosing information about the employee's wages, and (4) increase civil penalties for violations of equal pay provisions.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs shall train EEOC employees and other affected parties on wage discrimination.
The bill directs the Department of Labor to (1) establish and carry out a grant program for negotiation skills training programs to address pay disparities, including through outreach to women and girls; (2) conduct studies to eliminate pay disparities between men and women; (3) report on the gender pay gap in the teenage labor workforce; and (4) make available information on wage discrimination to assist the public in understanding and addressing such discrimination.
The Secretary of Labor's National Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace is established for an employer who has made a substantial effort to eliminate pay disparities between men and women.
The bill requires the EEOC to issue regulations for collecting from employers compensation and other employment data according to the sex, race, and ethnic identity of employees for use in enforcing laws prohibiting pay discrimination.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics shall continue collecting data on women workers in the Current Employment Statistics survey.
The bill sets forth prohibitions and requirements regarding the wage history of prospective employees.
Recorded votes 3
Newest first. Open one to see how every member voted.
| Roll call | Question | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House 134 | On Passage | Passed242–187 | Mar 27, 2019 |
| House 133 | On Motion to Recommit with Instructions | Failed191–236 | Mar 27, 2019 |
| House 132 | On Agreeing to the Amendment | Agreed to406–24 | Mar 27, 2019 |
Cosponsors 239
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Jan 30, 2019.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-VA | A. Donald McEachin | Original | Jan 30, 2019 |
| D-IA | Abby Finkenauer | Original | Jan 30, 2019 |
| D-VA | Abigail Davis Spanberger | Original | Jan 30, 2019 |
| D-CA | Adam B. Schiff | Original | Jan 30, 2019 |
| D-WA | Adam Smith | Original | Jan 30, 2019 |
| D-NY | Adriano Espaillat | Original | Jan 30, 2019 |
| D-TX | Al Green | Original | Jan 30, 2019 |
| D-FL | Al Lawson, Jr. | Original | Jan 30, 2019 |
| D-CA | Alan S. Lowenthal | Original | Jan 30, 2019 |
| D-NJ | Albio Sires | Original | Jan 30, 2019 |
| D-FL | Alcee L. Hastings | Original | Jan 30, 2019 |
| D-NY | Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez | Original | Jan 30, 2019 |
| D-NC | Alma S. Adams | Original | Jan 30, 2019 |
| D-CA | Ami Bera | Original | Jan 30, 2019 |
| D-IN | André Carson | Original | Jan 30, 2019 |
Actions 35
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Apr 3, 2019Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 53.
- Apr 2, 2019Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.
- Mar 28, 2019Received in the Senate.
- Mar 27, 2019Considered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 252. (consideration: CR H2848-2875)
- Mar 27, 2019DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 252, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Beyer amendment No. 7.
Amendments 8
Amendments offered to this bill.
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HRES 252 | Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 7) 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, and providing for considera | Related bill | Mar 27, 2019 |
| S 270 | Paycheck Fairness Act | Identical bill | Jan 30, 2019 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Labor and Employment.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Civil actions and liability
- Contracts and agency
- Department of Education
- Department of Labor
- Employee hiring
- Employment discrimination and employee rights
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
- Government information and archives
- Government studies and investigations
- Labor and Employment
- Labor standards
- Public contracts and procurement
- Racial and ethnic relations
- Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination
- Small business
- Wages and earnings
- Women's employment
Text 4
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Apr 3, 2019Placed on Calendar Senate
- Mar 27, 2019Engrossed in House
- Mar 18, 2019Reported in House
- Jan 30, 2019Introduced in House
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.