I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2491 

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to enhance provisions 

related to wage discrimination, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 13, 2021 

Ms. STEFANIK (for herself, Ms. FOXX, Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS, Mr. MCKINLEY, 

Mr. LATTA, Mr. BUCSHON, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. BOST, Mr. BACON, 

Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mrs. WALORSKI, Mr. GARBARINO, Mr. 

STAUBER, Mr. ZELDIN, Mrs. RODGERS of Washington, Mr. AUSTIN

SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mr. MANN, Mr. 

WITTMAN, Mr. KINZINGER, Mr. OWENS, Ms. MALLIOTAKIS, Mr. COLE, 

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana, Mr. WOMACK, Ms. GRANGER, Ms. HERRERA

BEUTLER, Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio, Mr. MOORE of Utah, Mr. MEUSER, 

Mr. JOYCE of Ohio, Mr. CAWTHORN, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. GUTHRIE, 

Mrs. SPARTZ, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. CURTIS, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, 

and Mr. AMODEI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to enhance 

provisions related to wage discrimination, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be referred to as the ‘‘Wage Equity 

5 Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 (1) In 1963, Congress passed on a bipartisan 

3 basis the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to prohibit dis4 crimination on account of sex in the payment of 

5 wages for equal work performed by employees for 

6 employers engaged in commerce or in the production 

7 of goods for commerce. 

8 (2) Following the passage of such Act, in 1964, 

9 Congress passed on a bipartisan basis the Civil 

10 Rights Act of 1964. Since the passage of both the 

11 Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 

12 1964, women have made significant strides, both in 

13 the workforce and in their educational pursuits. 

14 (3) Prior to the COVID–19 pandemic, there 

15 were over 77,000,000 women in the workforce, the 

16 most in American history. Of the 2,000,000 jobs 

17 created in 2019, 53 percent went to women. This 

18 follows a trend that has been rising for some time. 

19 Women are graduating from college at a higher rate 

20 than their male counter parts, making up 61 percent 

21 of all college degrees conferred in 2018. Additionally, 

22 according to a recent survey of working women, 

23 more than half are their family’s primary bread24 winner. 

25 (4) The COVID–19 pandemic has had a signifi26 cant impact on working women, resulting in over 2 


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1 million women leaving the workforce since February 

2 2020. 

3 (5) Despite these advances there is still concern 

4 among the American public that gender-based wage 

5 discrimination has not been eliminated. 

6 SEC. 3. CLARIFYING SEX-BASED DISCRIMINATION PROHIBI7 TION. 

8 Section 6(d)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 

9 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(d)(1)) is amended by inserting 

10 ‘‘bona fide business-related’’ after ‘‘any other’’. 

11 SEC. 4. JOB AND WAGE ANALYSIS. 

12 Section 16 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 

13 (29 U.S.C. 216) is amended by adding at the end the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(f)(1) An employer shall not be liable in an action 

16 brought against the employer for a violation of section 

17 6(d) if— 

18 ‘‘(A) during the period beginning on the date that 

19 is 3 years before the date on which the action is brought 

20 and ending on the date that is 1 day before the date on 

21 which the action is brought, such employer completes a 

22 job and wage analysis audit to determine whether there 

23 are differentials in wage rates among such employees that 

24 may violate section 6(d); 


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1 ‘‘(B) such employer takes reasonable steps to remedy 

2 any such differentials; 

3 ‘‘(C) such job and wage analysis audit is conducted 

4 and such reasonable steps are taken in good faith to inves5 tigate whether any such differentials exist; and 

6 ‘‘(D) such audit is reasonable in detail and scope with 

7 respect to the size of the employer. 

8 ‘‘(2) A job and wage analysis audit under this section 

9 and remedial action taken in response to the findings of 

10 such audit— 

11 ‘‘(A) may only be admissible by the employer 

12 for the purposes of showing— 

13 ‘‘(i) such audit was conducted; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) such reasonable steps were taken; and 

15 ‘‘(B) shall not be discoverable or admissible for 

16 any other purpose in any claim against the em17 ployer. 

18 ‘‘(3) An employer who has not completed a job and 

19 wage analysis audit under this subsection shall not be sub20 ject to a negative or adverse inference as a result of not 

21 having completed such audit. 

22 ‘‘(4) An employer who has completed a job and wage 

23 analysis audit that does not meet the requirements of sub24 paragraph (D) of paragraph (1) but otherwise meets the 


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1 requirements of such paragraph shall not be liable for liq2 uidated damages under section 16(b). 

3 ‘‘(5) In this section— 

4 ‘‘(A) the term ‘job and wage analysis audit’ 

5 means an audit conducted by the employer for the 

6 purpose of identifying wage disparities among em7 ployees on the basis of sex; and 

8 ‘‘(B) the term ‘reasonable steps’, with respect 

9 to differentials in wages among employees that may 

10 violate section 6(d), means steps that are reasonable 

11 to address such differentials taking into account— 

12 ‘‘(i) the amount of time that has passed 

13 since the date on which the audit was initiated; 

14 ‘‘(ii) the nature and degree of progress re15 sulting from such reasonable steps toward com16 pliance with section 6(d) compared to the num17 ber of employees with respect to whom a viola18 tion may exist and the amount of the wage rate 

19 differentials among such employees; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) the size and resources of the em21 ployer.’’. 

22 SEC. 5. WAGE HISTORY; DISCUSSION OF WAGES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Fair Labor Standards Act of 

24 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) is amended by inserting 

25 after section 7 the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 8. PROVISIONS RELATING TO WAGE HISTORY AND 

2 DISCUSSION OF WAGE. 

3 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENTS AND PROHIBITIONS RELATING

4 TO WAGE HISTORY.—It shall be an unlawful practice for 

5 a person after the date of enactment of the Wage Equity 

6 Act of 2021— 

7 ‘‘(1) to rely on the wage history of a prospective 

8 employee— 

9 ‘‘(A) in considering the prospective em10 ployee for employment, including by requiring 

11 that the wage history of a prospective employee 

12 satisfies minimum or maximum criteria as a 

13 condition of being considered for employment; 

14 or 

15 ‘‘(B) in determining the rate of wage for 

16 such prospective employee; or 

17 ‘‘(2) to seek, or to require a prospective em18 ployee to disclose, the wage history of such prospec19 tive employee. 

20 ‘‘(b) VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURE EXCEPTIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a)(1) shall not 

22 apply with respect to a prospective employee who 

23 voluntarily discloses the wage history of such pro24 spective employee. 

25 ‘‘(2) WAGE HISTORY VERIFICATION.—Notwith26 standing subsection (a)(2), a person may take acVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Jun 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2491.IH H2491

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1 tions necessary to verify the wage history of a pro2 spective employee if such wage history is voluntarily 

3 disclosed to the person by such prospective em4 ployee. 

5 ‘‘(c) PRIOR INQUIRIES.—Subsection (a) shall not 

6 apply with respect to the wage history of an employee ac7 quired by an employer before the date of enactment of 

8 the Wage Equity Act of 2021, including a current employ9 ee’s wage history with another employer that was re10 quested and used to set an employee’s starting wage be11 fore such date and which is embedded in an employee’s 

12 pay and pay increases after such date. 

13 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITIONS RELATING TO DISCUSSION OF

14 WAGES.—Subject to subsection (c), it shall be an unlawful 

15 practice for an employer— 

16 ‘‘(1) to prohibit an employee from inquiring 

17 about, discussing, or disclosing the wage of— 

18 ‘‘(A) the employee; or 

19 ‘‘(B) any other employee of the employer if 

20 such employee has voluntarily disclosed the 

21 wage of such employee; 

22 ‘‘(2) to prohibit an employee from requesting 

23 from the employer an explanation of differentials in 

24 compensation among employees; or 


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1 ‘‘(3) to take an adverse employment action 

2 against an employee for— 

3 ‘‘(A) conduct described under paragraphs 

4 (1) or (2); or 

5 ‘‘(B) encouraging employees to engage in 

6 conduct described in such paragraphs. 

7 ‘‘(e) LIMITATIONS RELATING TO DISCUSSION OF

8 WAGES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) TIME AND PLACE LIMITATIONS.—An em10 ployer may impose reasonable time, place, and man11 ner limitations on conduct described under sub12 section (c) if such limitations are written and avail13 able to each employee. 

14 ‘‘(2) INVOLUNTARY DISCLOSURE.—An employer 

15 may prohibit an employee from discussing the wages 

16 of any other employee if such other employee did not 

17 voluntarily disclose such wages to the employee dis18 cussing such wages. 

19 ‘‘(f) PAY EXPECTATION CONVERSATION.—Nothing 

20 in this section shall be construed to prevent a person 

21 from— 

22 ‘‘(1) inquiring about the pay expectations of a 

23 prospective employee; or 


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1 ‘‘(2) providing information to such employee 

2 about the compensation and benefits offered in rela3 tion to the position.’’. 

4 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 2 of the Fair Labor 

5 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 202) is amended by 

6 adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(z) the term ‘prospective employee’ means an indi8 vidual who took an affirmative step to seek employment 

9 with a person and who is not currently employed by such 

10 person, a parent, subsidiary, predecessor, or related com11 pany of such person, or an employer connected by a pur12 chase agreement with such person; and 

13 ‘‘(aa) the term ‘wage history’ means the wages paid 

14 to the prospective employee by the prospective employee’s 

15 current employer or any previous employer of such em16 ployee.’’. 

17 (c) RETALIATION.—Section 15(a)(3) of the Fair 

18 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 215(a)(3)) is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) by inserting ‘‘or prospective employee’’ after 

21 ‘‘any employee’’; and 

22 (2) by inserting ‘‘or prospective employee’’ after 

23 ‘‘such employee’’. 

24 (d) PENALTY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 16(b) of the Fair 

2 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(b)) is 

3 amended by inserting ‘‘Any person who violates the 

4 provisions of section 8 with respect to an employee 

5 or prospective employee shall be liable to such em6 ployee in an amount equal to the difference between 

7 the amount that the employee or prospective em8 ployee would have received but for such violation 

9 and the amount received by such employee or pro10 spective employee, and an additional equal amount 

11 as liquidated damages.’’ after ‘‘tips unlawfully kept 

12 by the employer, and in an additional equal amount 

13 as liquidated damages.’’. 

14 (2) CIVIL MONETARY PENALTY.—Section 

15 16(e)(2) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 

16 (29 U.S.C. 216(e)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘6 

17 and 7’’ and inserting ‘‘6, 7, and 8’’. 

18 SEC. 6. NEGOTIATION SKILLS EDUCATION. 

19 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor, 

21 after consultation with the Secretary of Education, 

22 is authorized to establish and carry out a grant pro23 gram. 

24 (2) GRANTS.—In carrying out the program 

25 under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Labor may 


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1 make grants on a competitive basis to eligible enti2 ties to carry out negotiation skills education pro3 grams for the purposes of addressing wage dispari4 ties, including through outreach to women and girls. 

5 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to re6 ceive a grant under this subsection, an entity shall 

7 be a public agency, such as a State, a local govern8 ment in a metropolitan statistical area (as defined 

9 by the Office of Management and Budget), a State 

10 educational agency, or a local educational agency, a 

11 private nonprofit organization, or a community12 based organization. 

13 (4) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 

14 grant under this subsection, an entity shall submit 

15 an application to the Secretary of Labor at such 

16 time, in such manner, and containing such informa17 tion as the Secretary of Labor may require. 

18 (5) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity that receives a 

19 grant under this subsection shall use the funds made 

20 available through the grant to carry out an effective 

21 negotiation skills education program for the pur22 poses described in paragraph (2). 

23 (b) INCORPORATING EDUCATION INTO EXISTING

24 PROGRAMS.—The Secretary of Labor and the Secretary 

25 of Education shall issue regulations or policy guidance 


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1 that provides for integrating the negotiation skills edu2 cation, to the extent practicable, into programs authorized 

3 under— 

4 (1) in the case of the Secretary of Education, 

5 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

6 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), the Carl D. Perkins 

7 Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 

8 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.), the Higher Education Act of 

9 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), and other programs 

10 carried out by the Department of Education that the 

11 Secretary of Education determines to be appro12 priate; and 

13 (2) in the case of the Secretary of Labor, the 

14 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

15 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.), and other programs carried 

16 out by the Department of Labor that the Secretary 

17 of Labor determines to be appropriate. 

18 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

20 the Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary 

21 of Education, shall prepare and submit to Congress a re22 port describing the activities conducted under this section 

23 and evaluating the effectiveness of such activities in 

24 achieving the purposes of this section. 


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1 SEC. 7. GAO STUDY. 

2 The Comptroller General shall, not later than 180 

3 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, submit 

4 to Congress a study on the causes and effects of— 

5 (1) wage disparities among men and women; 

6 (2) with respect to employees that leave the 

7 workforce for parental reasons (commonly referred 

8 to as the ‘‘Manager’s Gap’’), the impact on wages 

9 and opportunity potential; and 

10 (3) the disparities in negotiation skills among 

11 men and women upon entering the workforce. 

Æ 


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