The Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R.7) is a proposed United States labor law that would add procedural protections to the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Fair Labor Standards Act as part of an effort to address the gender pay gap in the United States. A Census Bureau report published in 2008 stated that women's median annual earnings were 77.5% of men's earnings.U.S. Census Bureau. Income, Earnings, and Poverty Data From the 2007 American Community Survey. August 2008, p. 14. Recently this has narrowed, as by 2018, this was estimated to have decreased to women earning 80-85% of men's earnings. One study suggests that when the data is controlled for certain variables, the residual gap is around 5-7%; the same study concludes that the residual is because "hours of work in many occupations are worth more when given at particular moments and when the hours are more continuous. That is, in many occupations, earnings have a nonlinear relationship with respect to hours."
The bill "punishes employers for retaliating against workers who share wage information, puts the justification burden on employers as to why someone is paid less and allows workers to sue for punitive damages of wage discrimination". Another provision of the bill would start programs to train women in ways to better negotiate their wages.
Background
Proponents of the Paycheck Fairness Act consider it an extension of the laws established by the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which makes it illegal for employers to pay unequal wages to men and women who perform substantially equal work. In order to find an employer in violation of the Equal Pay Act, a plaintiff must prove that "(1) the employer pays different wages to employees of the opposite sex; (2) the employees perform equal work on jobs requiring equal skill, effort, and responsibility; and (3) the jobs are performed under similar working conditions." Even if the individual makes each of these showings, the defendant employer may avoid liability by proving that the wage disparity is justified by one of four affirmative defenses—that is, that the employer has set the challenged wages pursuant to "(1) a seniority system; (2) a merit system; (3) a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production; or (4) a differential based on any other factor other than sex."29 U.S.C. § 206(d)(1) (2006)
Fifty years after the law's passage, a median earnings gap still exists between men and women. According to U.S. News & World Report, the Paycheck Fairness Act is meant to close this gap by:
"making wages more transparent"; "requiring that employers prove that wage discrepancies are tied to legitimate business qualifications and not gender"; and "prohibiting companies from taking retaliatory action against employees who raise concerns about gender-based wage discrimination".
Legislative history
The bill was first introduced in 1997, and has been reintroduced to congress many times, including: CongressShort titleBill number(s)Date introducedSponsor(s)# of cosponsorsLatest status105th CongressPaycheck Fairness Act of 1997June 24, 1997Rosa DeLauro
(D-CT)95Died in CommitteeJanuary 21, 1997Tom Daschle
(D-SD)23Died in Committee106th CongressPaycheck Fairness Act of 1999February 3, 1999Rosa DeLauro
(D-CT)122Died in CommitteeJune 30, 1999Rosa DeLauro
(D-CT)170Died in CommitteeJanuary 19, 1999Tom Daschle
(D-SD)31Died in Committee107th CongressPaycheck Fairness Act of 2001February 28, 2001Rosa DeLauro
(D-CT)196Died in CommitteeJanuary 22, 2001Tom Daschle
(D-SD)32Died in Committee108th CongressPaycheck Fairness Act of 2003April 4, 2003Rosa DeLauro
(D-CT)116Died in CommitteeJanuary 7, 2003Tom Daschle
(D-SD)20Died in Committee109th CongressPaycheck Fairness Act of 2005April 19, 2005Rosa DeLauro
(D-CT)111Died in CommitteeApril 19, 2005Hillary Clinton
(D-NY)18Died in Committee110th CongressPaycheck Fairness Act of 2007March 6, 2007Rosa DeLauro
(D-CT)230Passed in the House (247-178)March 6, 2007Hillary Clinton
(D-NY)24Died in Committee111th CongressPaycheck Fairness Act of 2009January 6, 2009Rosa DeLauro
(D-CT)200Passed in the House (256-163)"Rights groups urge Paycheck Fairness Act passing", The Louisiana Weekly, September 20, 2010. Accessed September 22, 2010. January 8, 2009Hillary Clinton
(D-NY)42Died in CommitteeSeptember 13, 2010Harry Reid
(D-NV)33Cloture was not invoked (58-41)112th CongressPaycheck Fairness Act of 2011April 13, 2011Rosa DeLauro
(D-CT)197Died in CommitteeApril 12, 2011Barbara Mikulski
(D-MD)35Died in CommitteeMay 22, 2012Barbara Mikulski
(D-MD)37Cloture was not invoked (52-47)113th CongressPaycheck Fairness Act of 2013January 23, 2013Rosa DeLauro
(D-CT)208Died in CommitteeJanuary 23, 2013Barbara Mikulski
(D-MD)56Died in CommitteeApril 1, 2014Barbara Mikulski
(D-MD)42Cloture was not invoked (53-44)114th CongressPaycheck Fairness Act of 2015March 25, 2015Rosa DeLauro
(D-CT)193Died in CommitteeMarch 25, 2015Barbara Mikulski
(D-MD)44Died in Committee115th CongressPaycheck Fairness Act of 2017April 7, 2017Rosa DeLauro
(D-CT)201Died in CommitteeApril 4, 2017Patty Murray (D-WA)48Died in Committee116th CongressPaycheck Fairness Act of 2019January 3, 2019Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)239Passed in the House (242-187)S. 270March 28, 2019Patty Murray (D-WA)46Died in Committee117th CongressPaycheck Fairness Act of 2021H.R. 7January 28, 2021Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)225Passed in the House (217-210)Cloture was not invoked (49-50)S.205February 3, 2021Patty Murray (D-WA)49Died in Committee118th CongressPaycheck Fairness Act of 2023H.R. 17March 10, 2023Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)216Died in Committee119th CongressPaycheck Fairness Act of 2025H.R. 17March 25, 2025Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)218Referred to committees of jurisdiction The United States Senate failed to move the bill forward in November 2010."Senate kills Paycheck Fairness Act" "United Press International. November 17, 2010. Accessed February 8, 2010. The 2010 bill had no Republican Party co-sponsors, though a group of four Republican senators had supported an earlier bill to address gender-based wage discrimination, including Susan Collins, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Lisa Murkowski, and Olympia Snowe.Editorial. "Shortchanging America's Women", The New York Times, September 19, 2010. Accessed September 22, 2010. The 2010 Senate version of the bill had the support of the Obama administration and that of Democrats in the Senate. The American Civil Liberties Union supported S.182, citing the 2008 data from the United States Census Bureau that women's median annual earnings were 77.5% of the male median, African-American women's median annual earnings were 64% of the white male median, and Hispanic women's median annual earnings were 54% of the white male median."Equal Pay for Equal Work: Pass the Paycheck Fairness Act", American Civil Liberties Union. Accessed September 22, 2010. The American Association of University Women also supported the bill, citing the organization's 2007 research report, Behind the Pay Gap, which showed that women earn less than their male colleagues just one year out of college. The pay gap has widened 10 years after graduation."Position on Pay Equity" , American Association of University Women. Accessed February 28, 2010.
President Barack Obama said in March 2011 that he would continue to fight for the goals in the Paycheck Fairness Act.Associated Press."Obama keeps focus on fight for women's equality",Associated Press. March 12, 2011. Accessed March 28, 2011. The bill was reintroduced in both houses of Congress in April 2011.Dodge, Garen E.; McFetridge, Jane M. "Paycheck Fairness Act Reintroduced in Congress" Martindale.com April 27, 2011. Accessed May 31, 2011.
On June 5, 2012, the bill fell short of the 60 votes necessary to override a filibuster and did not make it to the Senate floor for debate. The vote went along party lines, excluding a vote against by Democrat Harry Reid. (Senator Reid changes his vote as a procedural maneuver, which left Democrats the option to call up the bill again at a later time.)
On April 9, 2014, in another straight-party-line vote, the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 2199; 113th Congress) was again blocked by a Republican filibuster in the U.S. Senate. Once again, Senator Reid changed his vote from support to oppose, as a tactical maneuver to keep the bill alive. The Paycheck Fairness Act was introduced into the United States Senate on April 1, 2014 by Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD). The bill was not referred to any committees. On April 9, 2014, a vote to end the debate on the bill failed in a 53-44 vote, when 60 votes were needed. All of the Republicans voted against ending the debate. The bill was introduced into the United States Senate during the 113th United States Congress. On April 9, 2014, it failed an important vote to end debate on the bill.
On June 10, 2021, the bill was filibustered on a 49-50 vote, with all Democrats voting for cloture and Republicans voting against cloture, with one Democrat not voting.
Provisions This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the Congressional Research Service, a public domain source.
The Paycheck Fairness Act would amend 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.
The bill would revise the exception to the prohibition for a wage rate differential based on any other factor other than sex. It would limit such factors to bona fide factors, such as education, training, or experience.
The bill would state 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.
The bill would revise 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.
The bill would make employers who violate sex discrimination prohibitions liable in a civil action for either compensatory or (except for the federal government) punitive damages.
The bill would state 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.
The bill would authorize the United States Secretary of Labor (Secretary) to seek additional compensatory or punitive damages in a sex discrimination action.
The bill would require 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.
The bill would authorize the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities for negotiation skills training programs for girls and women. Directs the Secretary and the United States Secretary of Education to issue regulations or policy guidance to integrate such training into certain programs under their Departments.
The bill would direct 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.