{"bills":[{"photos":{"featured":"https://assets.countable.us/bill/photo/hr1619-114/featured_paycheck-fairness-act-1458249340.jpg","featured_large":"https://assets.countable.us/bill/photo/hr1619-114/featured_large_paycheck-fairness-act-1458249340.jpg","shareable":"https://n.countable.us/share-images/bills/hr1619-114.png"},"introduced_on":"2015-03-25","title_override":"Mind the Wage Gap: Strengthening the Equal Pay Act","summary_override":"

This bill would revise existing enforcement \nmechanisms to prevent wage discrimination based on gender. \nExceptions in laws that prohibit wage differences between men and women \nwould be limited to bona fide factors — like education, training, \nor experience.

Defenses based on bona fide factors can only apply if the employer demonstrates that the factor in question:

Is not based upon a gender-based differential for compensation;
Is job-related with respect to the position in question;
Is consistent with the needs of the business;
Accounts for the difference in compensation.

This\n defense would be inapplicable when the employee can demonstrate that an\n alternative employment practice exists that serves the same business \npurpose without leading to a pay difference and their employer refused\n to adopt that practice.

The prohibition \nagainst employer retaliation for complaints by employees would be \nrevised to bar retaliation for inquiring about, discussing, or \ndisclosing the wages of an employee in response to:

A complaint or accusation of gender discrimination;
An investigation, proceeding, hearing or other action;
An investigation conducted by the employer.

It\n would be illegal to require employees to sign a contract or waiver \npreventing them from disclosing information about their wages. Employers\n who violate gender discrimination rules would be liable for a civil\n action for compensatory or punitive damages — although the federal \ngovernment would be exempt from paying the punitive fines.

The\n Dept. of Labor would be authorized to seek additional compensatory or \npunitive damages in a gender discrimination action. All such actions \ncould be pursued as class action suits without the written consent of \nindividual plaintiffs. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission \n(EEOC) and the Office of Compliance Programs would have to train \nEEOC employees and affected individuals and entities involving wage \ndiscrimination.

EEOC would issue regulations \nrelated to collecting compensation data from employers to analyze data \nregarding the gender, race and national origin of employees for use in the \nenforcement of federal laws prohibiting pay discrimination.

","official_title":"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_title":"Paycheck Fairness Act","popular_title":null,"short_summary":"Paycheck Fairness Act\n\n Amends the portion of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 known as the Equal Pay Act to revise remedies for, enforcement of, and exceptions to prohibitions against sex discrimination in the payment of wages.\n\nRevises 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.\n\nStates 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, (3) is consistent with business necessity, and (4) accounts for the entire deferential in compensation at issue. 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 e...","summarized":true,"cost":null,"cost_commentary":"A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.","impact":"Women in the workforce, anyone who suspects they have been subjected to pay discrimination based on their gender, businesses that are practice or have been accused of pay discrimination, and relevant federal agencies — especially the EEOC and Bureau of Labor Statistics.","argument_for":"It's the 21st century — why in the world are women still being treated unequally to men, even when they perform the same job? 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Mind the Wage Gap: Strengthening the Equal Pay Act