Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB17 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	I
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. R. 17
5	5	To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide more effective
6	6	remedies to victims of discrimination in the payment of wages on the
7	7	basis of sex, and for other purposes.
8	8	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
9	9	MARCH25, 2025
10	10	Ms. D
11	11	ELAURO(for herself, Mr. FIGURES, Ms. SEWELL, Ms. ANSARI, Mr.
12	12	S
13	13	TANTON, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. THOMPSONof California, Mr. BERA, Ms.
14	14	M
15	15	ATSUI, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. HARDERof California, Mr. DESAULNIER,
16	16	Ms. P
17	17	ELOSI, Ms. SIMON, Mr. GRAY, Mr. SWALWELL, Mr. MULLIN, Mr.
18	18	L
19	19	ICCARDO, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. COSTA, Mr.
20	20	C
21	21	ARBAJAL, Mr. RUIZ, Ms. BROWNLEY, Mr. WHITESIDES, Ms. CHU, Ms.
22	22	R
23	23	IVAS, Ms. FRIEDMAN, Mr. CISNEROS, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. AGUILAR, Mr.
24	24	G
25	25	OMEZ, Mrs. TORRESof California, Mr. LIEU, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE,
26	26	Ms. S
27	27	A´NCHEZ, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. GARCIAof California, Ms. WATERS, Ms.
28	28	B
29	29	ARRAGA´N, Mr. TRAN, Mr. CORREA, Mr. MIN, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. PETERS,
30	30	Ms. J
31	31	ACOBS, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. CROW, Ms.
32	32	P
33	33	ETTERSEN, Mr. LARSONof Connecticut, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. HIMES,
34	34	Mrs. H
35	35	AYES, Ms. NORTON, Ms. MCBRIDE, Mr. SOTO, Mr. FROST, Ms.
36	36	C
37	37	ASTORof Florida, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Ms. LOISFRANKELof
38	38	Florida, Mr. M
39	39	OSKOWITZ, Ms. WILSONof Florida, Ms. WASSERMAN
40	40	S
41	41	CHULTZ, Mr. BISHOP, Mr. JOHNSONof Georgia, Ms. WILLIAMSof
42	42	Georgia, Mrs. M
43	43	CBATH, Mr. DAVIDSCOTTof Georgia, Mr. CASE, Ms.
44	44	T
45	45	OKUDA, Mr. JACKSONof Illinois, Ms. KELLYof Illinois, Mrs. RAMIREZ,
46	46	Mr. G
47	47	ARCI´Aof Illinois, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. CASTEN, Mr. DAVISof Illinois,
48	48	Mr. K
49	49	RISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Mr. FOS-
50	50	TER, Ms. BUDZINSKI, Ms. UNDERWOOD, Mr. SORENSEN, Mr. MRVAN,
51	51	Mr. C
52	52	ARSON, Ms. DAVIDSof Kansas, Mr. MCGARVEY, Mr. CARTERof
53	53	Louisiana, Mr. F
54	54	IELDS, Mr. NEAL, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr.
55	55	A
56	56	UCHINCLOSS, Ms. CLARKof Massachusetts, Mr. MOULTON, Ms.
57	57	P
58	58	RESSLEY, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. KEATING, Mr. OLSZEWSKI, Ms. ELFRETH,
59	59	Mr. I
60	60	VEY, Mr. HOYER, Mrs. MCCLAINDELANEY, Mr. MFUME, Mr.
61	61	R
62	62	ASKIN, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. GOLDENof Maine, Ms. SCHOLTEN, Mrs.
63	63	D
64	64	INGELL, Ms. MCDONALDRIVET, Ms. STEVENS, Ms. TLAIB, Mr.
65	65	T
66	66	HANEDAR, Ms. CRAIG, Ms. MORRISON, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. OMAR, Mr.
67	67	B
68	68	ELL, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. THOMPSONof Mississippi, Mr. DAVISof North
69	69	Carolina, Ms. R
70	70	OSS, Mrs. FOUSHEE, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. PAPPAS, Ms.
71	71	G
72	72	OODLANDER, Mr. NORCROSS, Mr. CONAWAY, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mr.
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75	75	•HR 17 IH
76	76	PALLONE, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. POU, Mrs. MCIVER, Ms. SHERRILL, Mrs.
77	77	W
78	78	ATSONCOLEMAN, Ms. STANSBURY, Mr. VASQUEZ, Ms. LEGER
79	79	F
80	80	ERNANDEZ, Ms. TITUS, Ms. LEEof Nevada, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr.
81	81	S
82	82	UOZZI, Ms. GILLEN, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. MENG, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr.
83	83	J
84	84	EFFRIES, Ms. CLARKEof New York, Mr. GOLDMANof New York, Mr.
85	85	N
86	86	ADLER, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. TORRESof New
87	87	York, Mr. L
88	88	ATIMER, Mr. RYAN, Mr. RILEYof New York, Mr. TONKO,
89	89	Mr. M
90	90	ANNION, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. KENNEDYof New York, Mr.
91	91	L
92	92	ANDSMAN, Mrs. BEATTY, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. BROWN, Mrs. SYKES, Ms.
93	93	B
94	94	ONAMICI, Ms. DEXTER, Ms. HOYLEof Oregon, Ms. BYNUM, Ms. SALI-
95	95	NAS, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. BOYLEof Pennsylvania, Mr. EVANSof Penn-
96	96	sylvania, Ms. D
97	97	EANof Pennsylvania, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. HOULAHAN, Ms.
98	98	L
99	99	EEof Pennsylvania, Mr. DELUZIO, Mr. HERNA´NDEZ, Mr. AMO, Mr.
100	100	M
101	101	AGAZINER, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. COHEN, Mrs. FLETCHER, Mr. GREEN
102	102	of Texas, Ms. E
103	103	SCOBAR, Mr. CASTROof Texas, Mr. CUELLAR, Ms. GAR-
104	104	CIAof Texas, Ms. CROCKETT, Ms. JOHNSONof Texas, Mr. VEASEY, Mr.
105	105	V
106	106	ICENTEGONZALEZof Texas, Mr. CASAR, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. SCOTTof
107	107	Virginia, Ms. M
108	108	CCLELLAN, Mr. VINDMAN, Mr. BEYER, Mr.
109	109	S
110	110	UBRAMANYAM, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. PLASKETT, Ms. BALINT, Ms.
111	111	D
112	112	ELBENE, Mr. LARSENof Washington, Ms. PEREZ, Ms. RANDALL, Ms.
113	113	J
114	114	AYAPAL, Ms. SCHRIER, Mr. SMITHof Washington, Ms. STRICKLAND,
115	115	Mr. P
116	116	OCAN, and Ms. MOOREof Wisconsin) introduced the following bill;
117	117	which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, and
118	118	in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for
119	119	a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
120	120	consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
121	121	mittee concerned
122	122	A BILL
123	123	To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide
124	124	more effective remedies to victims of discrimination in
125	125	the payment of wages on the basis of sex, and for other
126	126	purposes.
127	127	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
128	128	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
129	129	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
130	130	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Paycheck Fairness 4
131	131	Act’’. 5
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134	134	•HR 17 IH
135	135	SEC. 2. ENHANCED ENFORCEMENT OF EQUAL PAY RE-1
136	136	QUIREMENTS. 2
137	137	(a) D
138	138	EFINITIONS.—Section 3 of the Fair Labor 3
139	139	Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203) is amended by 4
140	140	adding at the end the following: 5
141	141	‘‘(z) ‘Sex’ includes— 6
142	142	‘‘(1) pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical 7
143	143	condition; 8
144	144	‘‘(2) sexual orientation or gender identity; and 9
145	145	‘‘(3) sex characteristics, including intersex 10
146	146	traits. 11
147	147	‘‘(aa) ‘Sexual orientation’ includes homosexuality, 12
148	148	heterosexuality, and bisexuality. 13
149	149	‘‘(bb) ‘Gender identity’ means the gender-related 14
150	150	identity, appearance, mannerisms, or other gender-related 15
151	151	characteristics of an individual, regardless of the individ-16
152	152	ual’s designated sex at birth.’’. 17
153	153	(b) B
154	154	ONAFIDEFACTORDEFENSE ANDMODIFICA-18
155	155	TION OFSAMEESTABLISHMENTREQUIREMENT.—Section 19
156	156	6(d)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 20
157	157	U.S.C. 206(d)(1)) is amended— 21
158	158	(1) by striking ‘‘No employer having’’ and in-22
159	159	serting ‘‘(A) No employer having’’; 23
160	160	(2) by striking ‘‘the opposite’’ and inserting 24
161	161	‘‘another’’; 25
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165	165	(3) by striking ‘‘any other factor other than 1
166	166	sex’’ and inserting ‘‘a bona fide factor other than 2
167	167	sex, such as education, training, or experience’’; and 3
168	168	(4) by adding at the end the following: 4
169	169	‘‘(B) The bona fide factor defense described in sub-5
170	170	paragraph (A)(iv) shall apply only if the employer dem-6
171	171	onstrates that such factor (i) is not based upon or derived 7
172	172	from a sex-based differential in compensation; (ii) is job- 8
173	173	related with respect to the position in question; (iii) is con-9
174	174	sistent with business necessity; and (iv) accounts for the 10
175	175	entire differential in compensation at issue. Such defense 11
176	176	shall not apply where the employee demonstrates that an 12
177	177	alternative employment practice exists that would serve 13
178	178	the same business purpose without producing such dif-14
179	179	ferential and that the employer has refused to adopt such 15
180	180	alternative practice. 16
181	181	‘‘(C) For purposes of subparagraph (A), employees 17
182	182	shall be deemed to work in the same establishment if the 18
183	183	employees work for the same employer at workplaces lo-19
184	184	cated in the same county or similar political subdivision 20
185	185	of a State. The preceding sentence shall not be construed 21
186	186	as limiting broader applications of the term ‘establish-22
187	187	ment’ consistent with rules prescribed or guidance issued 23
188	188	by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.’’. 24
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191	191	•HR 17 IH
192	192	(c) NONRETALIATIONPROVISION.—Section 15 of the 1
193	193	Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 215) is 2
194	194	amended— 3
195	195	(1) in subsection (a)— 4
196	196	(A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘em-5
197	197	ployee has filed’’ and all that follows and insert-6
198	198	ing ‘‘employee— 7
199	199	‘‘(A) has made a charge or filed any com-8
200	200	plaint or instituted or caused to be instituted 9
201	201	any investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action 10
202	202	under or related to this Act, including an inves-11
203	203	tigation conducted by the employer, or has tes-12
204	204	tified or is planning to testify or has assisted or 13
205	205	participated in any manner in any such inves-14
206	206	tigation, proceeding, hearing or action, or has 15
207	207	served or is planning to serve on an industry 16
208	208	committee; 17
209	209	‘‘(B) has opposed any practice made un-18
210	210	lawful by this Act; or 19
211	211	‘‘(C) has inquired about, discussed, or dis-20
212	212	closed the wages of the employee or another 21
213	213	employee (such as by inquiring or discussing 22
214	214	with the employer why the wages of the em-23
215	215	ployee involved are set at a certain rate or sal-24
216	216	ary);’’; 25
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220	220	(B) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 1
221	221	the end; 2
222	222	(C) in paragraph (6), by striking the pe-3
223	223	riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 4
224	224	(D) by adding at the end the following: 5
225	225	‘‘(7) to require an employee to sign a contract 6
226	226	or waiver that would prohibit the employee from dis-7
227	227	closing information about the employee’s wages.’’; 8
228	228	and 9
229	229	(2) by adding at the end the following: 10
230	230	‘‘(c) Subsection (a)(3)(C) shall not apply to instances 11
231	231	in which an employee who has access to the wage informa-12
232	232	tion of other employees as a part of such employee’s essen-13
233	233	tial job functions discloses the wages of such other employ-14
234	234	ees to individuals who do not otherwise have access to such 15
235	235	information, unless such disclosure is in response to a 16
236	236	complaint or charge or in furtherance of an investigation, 17
237	237	proceeding, hearing, or action under section 6(d), includ-18
238	238	ing an investigation conducted by the employer. Nothing 19
239	239	in this subsection shall be construed to limit the rights 20
240	240	of an employee provided under any other provision of 21
241	241	law.’’. 22
242	242	(d) E
243	243	NHANCEDPENALTIES.—Section 16(b) of the 23
244	244	Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(b)) is 24
245	245	amended— 25
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249	249	(1) by inserting after the first sentence the fol-1
250	250	lowing: ‘‘Any employer who violates section 6(d), or 2
251	251	who violates the provisions of section 15(a)(3) in re-3
252	252	lation to section 6(d), shall additionally be liable for 4
253	253	such compensatory damages, or, if the employee 5
254	254	demonstrates that the employer acted with malice or 6
255	255	reckless indifference, punitive damages as may be 7
256	256	appropriate, except that the United States shall not 8
257	257	be liable for punitive damages.’’; 9
258	258	(2) in the sentence beginning ‘‘An action to’’, 10
259	259	by striking ‘‘the preceding sentences’’ and inserting 11
260	260	‘‘any of the preceding sentences of this subsection’’; 12
261	261	(3) in the sentence beginning ‘‘No employees 13
262	262	shall’’, by striking ‘‘No employees’’ and inserting 14
263	263	‘‘Except with respect to class actions brought to en-15
264	264	force section 6(d), no employee’’; 16
265	265	(4) by inserting after the sentence referred to 17
266	266	in paragraph (3), the following: ‘‘Notwithstanding 18
267	267	any other provision of Federal law, any action 19
268	268	brought to enforce section 6(d) may be maintained 20
269	269	as a class action as provided by the Federal Rules 21
270	270	of Civil Procedure.’’; and 22
271	271	(5) in the sentence beginning ‘‘The court in’’— 23
272	272	(A) by striking ‘‘in such action’’ and in-24
273	273	serting ‘‘in any action brought to recover the li-25
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276	276	•HR 17 IH
277	277	ability prescribed in any of the preceding sen-1
278	278	tences of this subsection’’; and 2
279	279	(B) by inserting ‘‘, including expert fees’’ 3
280	280	before the period. 4
281	281	(e) A
282	282	CTION BY THESECRETARY.—Section 16(c) of 5
283	283	the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(c)) 6
284	284	is amended— 7
285	285	(1) in the first sentence— 8
286	286	(A) by inserting ‘‘or, in the case of a viola-9
287	287	tion of section 6(d), additional compensatory or 10
288	288	punitive damages, as described in subsection 11
289	289	(b),’’ before ‘‘and the agreement’’; and 12
290	290	(B) by inserting before the period the fol-13
291	291	lowing: ‘‘, or such compensatory or punitive 14
292	292	damages, as appropriate’’; 15
293	293	(2) in the second sentence, by inserting before 16
294	294	the period the following: ‘‘and, in the case of a viola-17
295	295	tion of section 6(d), additional compensatory or pu-18
296	296	nitive damages, as described in subsection (b)’’; and 19
297	297	(3) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘the first 20
298	298	sentence’’ and inserting ‘‘the first or second sen-21
299	299	tence’’. 22
300	300	(f) E
301	301	NFORCEMENTAUTHORITY.— 23
302	302	(1) I
303	303	N GENERAL.—The Equal Opportunity Em-24
304	304	ployment Commission shall carry out the functions 25
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307	307	•HR 17 IH
308	308	and authorities described in section 1 of Reorganiza-1
309	309	tion Plan No. 1 of 1978 (92 Stat. 3781; 5 U.S.C. 2
310	310	App.) to enforce and administer the provisions of 3
311	311	section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 4
312	312	1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(d)), except that the Secretary 5
313	313	of Labor, through the Office of Federal Contract 6
314	314	Compliance Programs, may also enforce this provi-7
315	315	sion with respect to Federal contractors, Federal 8
316	316	subcontractors, and federally assisted construction 9
317	317	contractors, within the jurisdiction of the Office of 10
318	318	Federal Contract Compliance Programs under Exec-11
319	319	utive Order No. 11246 (42 U.S.C. 2000e note; relat-12
320	320	ing to equal employment opportunity) or a successor 13
321	321	Executive order. 14
322	322	(2) C
323	323	OORDINATION.—The Equal Opportunity 15
324	324	Employment Commission shall issue such regula-16
325	325	tions as may be necessary to explain and implement 17
326	326	the standards of such section 6(d). The Secretary of 18
327	327	Labor may issue regulations to govern procedures 19
328	328	for enforcement of section 6(d) by the Office of Fed-20
329	329	eral Contract Compliance Programs. The Secretary 21
330	330	of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity 22
331	331	Commission shall establish other coordinating mech-23
332	332	anisms as may be necessary. 24
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335	335	•HR 17 IH
336	336	SEC. 3. TRAINING. 1
337	337	The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 2
338	338	and the Secretary of Labor, acting through the Office of 3
339	339	Federal Contract Compliance Programs, subject to the 4
340	340	availability of funds appropriated under section 11, shall 5
341	341	provide training to employees of the Commission and the 6
342	342	Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and to 7
343	343	affected individuals and entities on matters involving dis-8
344	344	crimination in the payment of wages. 9
345	345	SEC. 4. NEGOTIATION SKILLS TRAINING. 10
346	346	(a) N
347	347	EGOTIATIONBIASTRAINING.— 11
348	348	(1) I
349	349	N GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall 12
350	350	establish a program to award contracts and grants 13
351	351	for the purpose of training employers about the role 14
352	352	that salary negotiation and other inconsistent wage 15
353	353	setting practices can have on allowing bias to enter 16
354	354	compensation. 17
355	355	(2) T
356	356	RAINING TOPICS.—Each training program 18
357	357	established using funds under section (a) shall in-19
358	358	clude an overview of how structural issues may 20
359	359	cause inequitable earning and advancement opportu-21
360	360	nities for women and people of color and assist em-22
361	361	ployers in examining the impact of a range of prac-23
362	362	tices on such opportunities, including— 24
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366	366	(A) self-auditing to identify structural 1
367	367	issues that allow bias and inequity to enter 2
368	368	compensation; 3
369	369	(B) recruitment of candidates to ensure di-4
370	370	verse pools of applicants; 5
371	371	(C) salary negotiations that result in simi-6
372	372	larly qualified workers entering at different 7
373	373	rates of pay; 8
374	374	(D) internal equity among workers with 9
375	375	similar skills, effort, responsibility and working 10
376	376	conditions; 11
377	377	(E) consistent use of market rates and in-12
378	378	centives driven by industry competitiveness; 13
379	379	(F) evaluation of the rate of employee 14
380	380	progress and advancement to higher paid posi-15
381	381	tions; 16
382	382	(G) work assignments that result in great-17
383	383	er opportunity for advancement; 18
384	384	(H) training, development and promotion 19
385	385	opportunities; 20
386	386	(I) impact of mid-level or senior level hir-21
387	387	ing in comparison to wage rates of incumbent 22
388	388	workers; 23
389	389	(J) opportunities to win commissions and 24
390	390	bonuses; 25
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394	394	(K) performance reviews and raises; 1
395	395	(L) processes for adjusting pay to address 2
396	396	inconsistency and inequity in compensation; and 3
397	397	(M) other topics that research identifies as 4
398	398	a common area for assumptions, bias and in-5
399	399	equity to impact compensation. 6
400	400	(b) P
401	401	ROGRAMAUTHORIZED.— 7
402	402	(1) I
403	403	N GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor, 8
404	404	after consultation with the Secretary of Education, 9
405	405	is authorized to establish and carry out a grant pro-10
406	406	gram. 11
407	407	(2) G
408	408	RANTS.—In carrying out the program, the 12
409	409	Secretary of Labor may make grants on a competi-13
410	410	tive basis to eligible entities to carry out negotiation 14
411	411	skills training programs for the purposes of address-15
412	412	ing pay disparities, including through outreach to 16
413	413	women and girls. 17
414	414	(3) E
415	415	LIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to re-18
416	416	ceive a grant under this subsection, an entity shall 19
417	417	be a public agency, such as a State, a local govern-20
418	418	ment in a metropolitan statistical area (as defined 21
419	419	by the Office of Management and Budget), a State 22
420	420	educational agency, or a local educational agency, a 23
421	421	private nonprofit organization, or a community- 24
422	422	based organization. 25
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426	426	(4) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 1
427	427	grant under this subsection, an entity shall submit 2
428	428	an application to the Secretary of Labor at such 3
429	429	time, in such manner, and containing such informa-4
430	430	tion as the Secretary of Labor may require. 5
431	431	(5) U
432	432	SE OF FUNDS.—An entity that receives a 6
433	433	grant under this subsection shall use the funds made 7
434	434	available through the grant to carry out an effective 8
435	435	negotiation skills training program for the purposes 9
436	436	described in paragraph (2). 10
437	437	(c) I
438	438	NCORPORATINGTRAININGINTOEXISTINGPRO-11
439	439	GRAMS.—The Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of 12
440	440	Education shall issue regulations or policy guidance that 13
441	441	provides for integrating the negotiation skills training, to 14
442	442	the extent practicable, into programs authorized under— 15
443	443	(1) in the case of the Secretary of Education, 16
444	444	the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 17
445	445	1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), the Carl D. Perkins 18
446	446	Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 19
447	447	U.S.C. 2301 et seq.), the Higher Education Act of 20
448	448	1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), and other programs 21
449	449	carried out by the Department of Education that the 22
450	450	Secretary of Education determines to be appro-23
451	451	priate; and 24
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454	454	•HR 17 IH
455	455	(2) in the case of the Secretary of Labor, the 1
456	456	Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 2
457	457	U.S.C. 3101 et seq.), and other programs carried 3
458	458	out by the Department of Labor that the Secretary 4
459	459	of Labor determines to be appropriate. 5
460	460	(d) R
461	461	EPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 6
462	462	date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 7
463	463	the Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary 8
464	464	of Education, shall prepare and submit to Congress a re-9
465	465	port describing the activities conducted under this section 10
466	466	and evaluating the effectiveness of such activities in 11
467	467	achieving the purposes of this section. 12
468	468	SEC. 5. RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND OUTREACH. 13
469	469	(a) I
470	470	NGENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 14
471	471	the date of enactment of this Act, and periodically there-15
472	472	after, the Secretary of Labor shall conduct studies and 16
473	473	provide information to employers, labor organizations, and 17
474	474	the general public concerning the means available to elimi-18
475	475	nate pay disparities between men and women (including 19
476	476	women who are Asian American, Black or African Amer-20
477	477	ican, Hispanic American or Latino, Native American or 21
478	478	Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and 22
479	479	White American), including— 23
480	480	(1) conducting and promoting research to de-24
481	481	velop the means to correct expeditiously the condi-25
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484	484	•HR 17 IH
485	485	tions leading to the pay disparities, with specific at-1
486	486	tention paid to women and girls from historically 2
487	487	underrepresented and minority groups; 3
488	488	(2) publishing and otherwise making available 4
489	489	to employers, labor organizations, professional asso-5
490	490	ciations, educational institutions, the media, and the 6
491	491	general public the findings resulting from studies 7
492	492	and other materials, relating to eliminating the pay 8
493	493	disparities; 9
494	494	(3) sponsoring and assisting State, local, and 10
495	495	community informational and educational programs; 11
496	496	(4) providing information to employers, labor 12
497	497	organizations, professional associations, and other 13
498	498	interested persons on the means of eliminating the 14
499	499	pay disparities; and 15
500	500	(5) recognizing and promoting the achievements 16
501	501	of employers, labor organizations, and professional 17
502	502	associations that have worked to eliminate the pay 18
503	503	disparities. 19
504	504	(b) R
505	505	ESEARCH ONGENDERPAYGAP INTEENAGE 20
506	506	L
507	507	ABORFORCE.— 21
508	508	(1) R
509	509	ESEARCH REVIEW .—Not later than 12 22
510	510	months after the date of the enactment of this Act, 23
511	511	the Secretary of Labor, acting through the Director 24
512	512	of the Women’s Bureau, shall conduct a review and 25
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515	515	•HR 17 IH
516	516	develop a synthesis of research on the gender wage 1
517	517	gap among younger workers existing as of the date 2
518	518	of enactment of this Act, and shall make such review 3
519	519	and synthesis available on a publicly accessible 4
520	520	website of the Department of Labor. 5
521	521	(2) A
522	522	UTHORITY TO COMMISSION STUDIES .—Not 6
523	523	later than 36 months after the date of the enact-7
524	524	ment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor, acting 8
525	525	through the Director of the Women’s Bureau, shall 9
526	526	request proposals and commission studies that can 10
527	527	advance knowledge on the gender wage gap among 11
528	528	younger workers, and shall make such studies avail-12
529	529	able on a publicly accessible website of the Depart-13
530	530	ment of Labor. 14
531	531	SEC. 6. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL AWARD FOR 15
532	532	PAY EQUITY IN THE WORKPLACE. 16
533	533	(a) I
534	534	NGENERAL.—There is established the National 17
535	535	Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace, which shall be 18
536	536	awarded by the Secretary of Labor in consultation with 19
537	537	the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, on an 20
538	538	annual basis, to an employer to encourage proactive ef-21
539	539	forts to comply with section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Stand-22
540	540	ards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(d)), as amended by this 23
541	541	Act. 24
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544	544	•HR 17 IH
545	545	(b) CRITERIA FORQUALIFICATION.—The Secretary 1
546	546	of Labor, in consultation with the Equal Employment Op-2
547	547	portunity Commission, shall— 3
548	548	(1) set criteria for receipt of the award, includ-4
549	549	ing a requirement that an employer has made sub-5
550	550	stantial effort to eliminate pay disparities between 6
551	551	men and women and deserves special recognition as 7
552	552	a consequence of such effort; and 8
553	553	(2) establish procedures for the application and 9
554	554	presentation of the award. 10
555	555	(c) B
556	556	USINESS.—In this section, the term ‘‘employer’’ 11
557	557	includes— 12
558	558	(1)(A) a corporation, including a nonprofit cor-13
559	559	poration; 14
560	560	(B) a partnership; 15
561	561	(C) a professional association; 16
562	562	(D) a labor organization; and 17
563	563	(E) a business entity similar to an entity de-18
564	564	scribed in any of subparagraphs (A) through (D); 19
565	565	(2) an entity carrying out an education referral 20
566	566	program, a training program, such as an apprentice-21
567	567	ship or management training program, or a similar 22
568	568	program; and 23
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571	571	•HR 17 IH
572	572	(3) an entity carrying out a joint program, 1
573	573	formed by a combination of any entities described in 2
574	574	paragraph (1) or (2). 3
575	575	SEC. 7. COLLECTION OF PAY INFORMATION BY THE EQUAL 4
576	576	EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION. 5
577	577	Section 709 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 6
578	578	U.S.C. 2000e–8) is amended by adding at the end the fol-7
579	579	lowing: 8
580	580	‘‘(f)(1) Not later than 24 months after the date of 9
581	581	enactment of this subsection, the Commission shall pro-10
582	582	vide for the annual collection from employers of compensa-11
583	583	tion data disaggregated by the sex, race, and national ori-12
584	584	gin of employees. The Commission may also require em-13
585	585	ployers to submit other employment-related data (includ-14
586	586	ing hiring, termination, and promotion data) so 15
587	587	disaggregated. 16
588	588	‘‘(2) In carrying out paragraph (1), the Commission 17
589	589	shall have as its primary consideration the most effective 18
590	590	and efficient means for enhancing the enforcement of Fed-19
591	591	eral laws prohibiting pay discrimination. The Commission 20
592	592	shall also consider factors including the imposition of bur-21
593	593	dens on employers, the frequency of required reports (in-22
594	594	cluding the size of employers required to prepare reports), 23
595	595	appropriate protections for maintaining data confiden-24
596	596	tiality, and the most effective format to report such data. 25
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599	599	•HR 17 IH
600	600	‘‘(3)(A) For each 12-month reporting period for an 1
601	601	employer, the data collected under paragraph (1) shall in-2
602	602	clude compensation data disaggregated by the categories 3
603	603	described in subparagraph (E). 4
604	604	‘‘(B) For the purposes of collecting the disaggregated 5
605	605	compensation data described in subparagraph (A), the 6
606	606	Commission may use compensation ranges reporting— 7
607	607	‘‘(i) the number of employees of the employer 8
608	608	who earn compensation in an amount that falls with-9
609	609	in such compensation range; and 10
610	610	‘‘(ii) the total number of hours worked by such 11
611	611	employees. 12
612	612	‘‘(C) If the Commission uses compensation ranges to 13
613	613	collect the pay data described in subparagraph (A), the 14
614	614	Commission may adjust such compensation ranges— 15
615	615	‘‘(i) if the Commission determines that such ad-16
616	616	justment is necessary to enhance enforcement of 17
617	617	Federal laws prohibiting pay discrimination; or 18
618	618	‘‘(ii) for inflation, in consultation with the Bu-19
619	619	reau of Labor Statistics. 20
620	620	‘‘(D) In collecting data described in subparagraph 21
621	621	(A)(ii), the Commission may provide that, with respect to 22
622	622	an employee who the employer is not required to com-23
623	623	pensate for overtime employment under section 7 of the 24
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626	626	•HR 17 IH
627	627	Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 207), an 1
628	628	employer may report— 2
629	629	‘‘(i) in the case of a full-time employee, that 3
630	630	such employee works 40 hours per week, and in the 4
631	631	case of a part-time employee, that such employee 5
632	632	works 20 hours per week; or 6
633	633	‘‘(ii) the actual number of hours worked by 7
634	634	such employee. 8
635	635	‘‘(E) The categories described in this subparagraph 9
636	636	shall be determined by the Commission and shall in-10
637	637	clude— 11
638	638	‘‘(i) race; 12
639	639	‘‘(ii) national origin; 13
640	640	‘‘(iii) sex; and 14
641	641	‘‘(iv) job categories, including the job categories 15
642	642	described in the instructions for the Equal Employ-16
643	643	ment Opportunity Employer Information Report 17
644	644	EEO–1, as in effect on the date of the enactment 18
645	645	of this subsection. 19
646	646	‘‘(F) The Commission shall use the compensation 20
647	647	data collected under paragraph (1)— 21
648	648	‘‘(i) to enhance— 22
649	649	‘‘(I) the investigation of charges filed 23
650	650	under section 706 or section 6(d) of the Fair 24
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653	653	•HR 17 IH
654	654	Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 1
655	655	206(d)); and 2
656	656	‘‘(II) the allocation of resources to inves-3
657	657	tigate such charges; and 4
658	658	‘‘(ii) for any other purpose that the Commission 5
659	659	determines appropriate. 6
660	660	‘‘(G) The Commission shall at 18-month intervals 7
661	661	make publicly available aggregate compensation data col-8
662	662	lected under paragraph (1) for the categories described in 9
663	663	subparagraph (E), disaggregated by industry, occupation, 10
664	664	and core based statistical area (as defined by the Office 11
665	665	of Management and Budget). 12
666	666	‘‘(4) The compensation data under paragraph (1) 13
667	667	shall be collected from each employer that— 14
668	668	‘‘(A) is a private employer that has 100 or 15
669	669	more employees, including such an employer that is 16
670	670	a contractor with the Federal Government, or a sub-17
671	671	contractor at any tier thereof; or 18
672	672	‘‘(B) the Commission determines appropriate.’’. 19
673	673	SEC. 8. REINSTATEMENT OF PAY EQUITY PROGRAMS AND 20
674	674	PAY EQUITY DATA COLLECTION. 21
675	675	(a) B
676	676	UREAU OFLABORSTATISTICSDATACOLLEC-22
677	677	TION.—The Commissioner of Labor Statistics shall con-23
678	678	tinue to collect data on women workers in the Current 24
679	679	Employment Statistics survey. 25
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682	682	•HR 17 IH
683	683	(b) OFFICE OFFEDERALCONTRACTCOMPLIANCE 1
684	684	P
685	685	ROGRAMSINITIATIVES.—The Director of the Office of 2
686	686	Federal Contract Compliance Programs shall collect com-3
687	687	pensation data and other employment-related data (in-4
688	688	cluding, hiring, termination, and promotion data) by de-5
689	689	mographics and designate not less than half of all non-6
690	690	construction contractors each year to prepare and file such 7
691	691	data, and shall review and utilize the responses to such 8
692	692	data to identify contractors for further evaluation and for 9
693	693	other enforcement purposes as appropriate. 10
694	694	(c) D
695	695	EPARTMENT OF LABORDISTRIBUTION OF 11
696	696	W
697	697	AGEDISCRIMINATIONINFORMATION.—The Secretary of 12
698	698	Labor shall make readily available (in print, on the De-13
699	699	partment of Labor website, and through any other forum 14
700	700	that the Department may use to distribute compensation 15
701	701	discrimination information), accurate information on com-16
702	702	pensation discrimination, including statistics, explanations 17
703	703	of employee rights, historical analyses of such discrimina-18
704	704	tion, instructions for employers on compliance, and any 19
705	705	other information that will assist the public in under-20
706	706	standing and addressing such discrimination. 21
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709	709	•HR 17 IH
710	710	SEC. 9. PROHIBITIONS RELATING TO PROSPECTIVE EM-1
711	711	PLOYEES’ SALARY AND BENEFIT HISTORY. 2
712	712	(a) I
713	713	NGENERAL.—The Fair Labor Standards Act of 3
714	714	1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) is amended by inserting 4
715	715	after section 7 the following new section: 5
716	716	‘‘SEC. 8. REQUIREMENTS AND PROHIBITIONS RELATING TO 6
717	717	WAGE, SALARY, AND BENEFIT HISTORY. 7
718	718	‘‘(a) I
719	719	NGENERAL.—It shall be an unlawful practice 8
720	720	for an employer to— 9
721	721	‘‘(1) rely on the wage history of a prospective 10
722	722	employee in considering the prospective employee for 11
723	723	employment in a position as an employee who in any 12
724	724	workweek is engaged in commerce or in the produc-13
725	725	tion of goods for commerce, or is employed in an en-14
726	726	terprise engaged in commerce or in the production 15
727	727	of goods for commerce, including requiring that a 16
728	728	prospective employee’s prior wages satisfy minimum 17
729	729	or maximum criteria as a condition of being consid-18
730	730	ered for such employment; 19
731	731	‘‘(2) rely on the wage history of a prospective 20
732	732	employee in determining the wages for such prospec-21
733	733	tive employee for a position described in paragraph 22
734	734	(1) of the employer, except that an employer may 23
735	735	rely on wage history if it is voluntarily provided by 24
736	736	a prospective employee, after the employer makes an 25
737	737	offer of employment in such a position with an offer 26
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740	740	•HR 17 IH
741	741	of compensation to the prospective employee for such 1
742	742	position, to support a wage higher than the wage of-2
743	743	fered by the employer; 3
744	744	‘‘(3) seek from a prospective employee or any 4
745	745	current or former employer the wage history of the 5
746	746	prospective employee, except that an employer may 6
747	747	seek to confirm prior wage information only after an 7
748	748	offer of employment with compensation has been 8
749	749	made to the prospective employee and the prospec-9
750	750	tive employee responds to the offer by providing 10
751	751	prior wage information to support a wage higher 11
752	752	than that offered by the employer; or 12
753	753	‘‘(4) discharge or in any other manner retaliate 13
754	754	against any employee or prospective employee for a 14
755	755	position described in paragraph (1) because the em-15
756	756	ployee or prospective employee— 16
757	757	‘‘(A) opposed any act or practice made un-17
758	758	lawful by this section; or 18
759	759	‘‘(B) took an action for which discrimina-19
760	760	tion is forbidden under section 15(a)(3). 20
761	761	‘‘(b) D
762	762	EFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘wage 21
763	763	history’ means the wages paid to the prospective employee 22
764	764	by the prospective employee’s current employer or previous 23
765	765	employer.’’. 24
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768	768	•HR 17 IH
769	769	(b) PENALTIES.—Section 16 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1
770	770	216) is amended by adding at the end the following new 2
771	771	subsection: 3
772	772	‘‘(f)(1) Any person who violates the provisions of sec-4
773	773	tion 8 shall— 5
774	774	‘‘(A) be subject to a civil penalty of $5,000 for 6
775	775	a first offense, increased by an additional $1,000 for 7
776	776	each subsequent offense, not to exceed $10,000; and 8
777	777	‘‘(B) be liable to each employee or prospective 9
778	778	employee who was the subject of the violation for 10
779	779	special damages not to exceed $10,000 plus attor-11
780	780	neys’ fees, and shall be subject to such injunctive re-12
781	781	lief as may be appropriate. 13
782	782	‘‘(2) An action to recover the liability described in 14
783	783	paragraph (1)(B) may be maintained against any em-15
784	784	ployer (including a public agency) in any Federal or State 16
785	785	court of competent jurisdiction by any one or more em-17
786	786	ployees or prospective employees for and on behalf of— 18
787	787	‘‘(A) the employees or prospective employees; 19
788	788	and 20
789	789	‘‘(B) other employees or prospective employees 21
790	790	similarly situated.’’. 22
791	791	(c) C
792	792	ONFORMINGAMENDMENT.—Section 10 of the 23
793	793	Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 210) is re-24
794	794	pealed. 25
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797	797	•HR 17 IH
798	798	SEC. 10. NATIONAL EQUAL PAY ENFORCEMENT TASK 1
799	799	FORCE. 2
800	800	(a) I
801	801	NGENERAL.—There is established the National 3
802	802	Equal Pay Enforcement Task Force, consisting of rep-4
803	803	resentatives from the Equal Employment Opportunity 5
804	804	Commission, the Department of Justice, the Department 6
805	805	of Labor, and the Office of Personnel Management. 7
806	806	(b) M
807	807	ISSION.—In order to improve compliance, public 8
808	808	education, and enforcement of equal pay laws, the Na-9
809	809	tional Equal Pay Enforcement Task Force will ensure that 10
810	810	the agencies in subsection (a) are coordinating efforts and 11
811	811	limiting potential gaps in enforcement. 12
812	812	(c) D
813	813	UTIES.—The National Equal Pay Enforcement 13
814	814	Task Force shall investigate challenges related to pay in-14
815	815	equity pursuant to its mission in subsection (b), advance 15
816	816	recommendations to address those challenges, and create 16
817	817	action plans to implement the recommendations. 17
818	818	SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 18
819	819	(a) A
820	820	UTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 19
821	821	are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 20
822	822	necessary to carry out this Act. 21
823	823	(b) P
824	824	ROHIBITION ONEARMARKS.—None of the funds 22
825	825	appropriated pursuant to subsection (a) for purposes of 23
826	826	the grant program in section 4 of this Act may be used 24
827	827	for a congressional earmark as defined in clause 9(e) of 25
828	828	rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 26
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831	831	•HR 17 IH
832	832	SEC. 12. SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE. 1
833	833	(a) E
834	834	FFECTIVEDATE.—This Act and the amend-2
835	835	ments made by this Act shall take effect on the date that 3
836	836	is 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act. 4
837	837	(b) T
838	838	ECHNICALASSISTANCEMATERIALS.—The Sec-5
839	839	retary of Labor and the Commissioner of the Equal Em-6
840	840	ployment Opportunity Commission shall jointly develop 7
841	841	technical assistance material to assist small enterprises in 8
842	842	complying with the requirements of this Act and the 9
843	843	amendments made by this Act. 10
844	844	(c) S
845	845	MALLBUSINESSES.—A small enterprise shall be 11
846	846	exempt from the provisions of this Act, and the amend-12
847	847	ments made by this Act, to the same extent that such en-13
848	848	terprise is exempt from the requirements of the Fair 14
849	849	Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) pur-15
850	850	suant to clauses (i) and (ii) of section 3(s)(1)(A) of such 16
851	851	Act (29 U.S.C. 203(s)(1)(A)). 17
852	852	SEC. 13. NOTICE REQUIREMENTS. 18
853	853	(a) I
854	854	NGENERAL.—Each employer shall post and 19
855	855	keep posted, in conspicuous places on the premises of the 20
856	856	employer where notices to employees are customarily post-21
857	857	ed, a notice, to be prepared or approved by the Equal Em-22
858	858	ployment Opportunity Commission and the Secretary of 23
859	859	Labor, of the requirements described in this Act (or the 24
860	860	amendments made by such Act). 25
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863	863	•HR 17 IH
864	864	(b) RELATION TOEXISTINGNOTICES.—The notice 1
865	865	under subsection (a) may be incorporated into notices re-2
866	866	quired of the employer as of the date of enactment of this 3
867	867	Act. 4
868	868	(c) D
869	869	IGITALNOTICE.—With respect to the notice 5
870	870	under subsection (a), each employer shall— 6
871	871	(1) post electronic copies of the notice on an in-7
872	872	ternal website to which employees have access; and 8
873	873	(2) notify employees on such internal website of 9
874	874	the location of the place on the premises where the 10
875	875	notice is posted. 11
876	876	SEC. 14. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 12
877	877	Nothing in this Act, or in any amendments made by 13
878	878	this Act, shall affect the obligation of employers and em-14
879	879	ployees to fully comply with all applicable immigration 15
880	880	laws, including being subject to any penalties, fines, or 16
881	881	other sanctions. 17
882	882	SEC. 15. SEVERABILITY. 18
883	883	If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by 19
884	884	this Act, or the application of that provision or amend-20
885	885	ment to particular persons or circumstances is held invalid 21
886	886	or found to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, 22
887	887	the amendments made by this Act, or the application of 23
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889	889	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 29
890	890	•HR 17 IH
891	891	that provision to other persons or circumstances shall not 1
892	892	be affected. 2
893	893	Æ
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895	895	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS