I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2490 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 13, 2021 

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey 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 provide 

more effective remedies to victims of discrimination in 

the payment of wages on the basis of sex, 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 cited as the ‘‘Paycheck Fairness 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Women have entered the workforce in 

2 record numbers over the past 50 years. 

3 (2) Despite the enactment of the Equal Pay Act 

4 of 1963, many women continue to earn significantly 

5 lower pay than men for equal work. These pay dis6 parities exist in both the private and governmental 

7 sectors. Pay disparities are especially severe for 

8 women and girls of color. 

9 (3) In many instances, the pay disparities can 

10 only be due to continued intentional discrimination 

11 or the lingering effects of past discrimination. After 

12 controlling for educational attainment, occupation, 

13 industry, union status, race, ethnicity, and labor 

14 force experience roughly 40 percent of the pay gap 

15 remains unexplained. 

16 (4) The existence of such pay disparities— 

17 (A) depresses the wages of working fami18 lies who rely on the wages of all members of the 

19 family to make ends meet; 

20 (B) undermines women’s retirement secu21 rity, which is often based on earnings while in 

22 the workforce; 

23 (C) prevents women from realizing their 

24 full economic potential, particularly in terms of 

25 labor force participation and attachment; 


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1 (D) has been spread and perpetuated, 

2 through commerce and the channels and instru3 mentalities of commerce, among the workers of 

4 the several States; 

5 (E) burdens commerce and the free flow of 

6 goods in commerce; 

7 (F) constitutes an unfair method of com8 petition in commerce; 

9 (G) tends to cause labor disputes, as evi10 denced by the tens of thousands of charges filed 

11 with the Equal Employment Opportunity Com12 mission against employers between 2010 and 

13 2016; 

14 (H) interferes with the orderly and fair 

15 marketing of goods in commerce; and 

16 (I) in many instances, may deprive workers 

17 of equal protection on the basis of sex in viola18 tion of the 5th and 14th Amendments to the 

19 Constitution. 

20 (5)(A) Artificial barriers to the elimination of 

21 discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis 

22 of sex continue to exist decades after the enactment 

23 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

24 201 et seq.) and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

25 U.S.C. 2000a et seq.). 


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1 (B) These barriers have resulted, in significant 

2 part, because the Equal Pay Act of 1963 has not 

3 worked as Congress originally intended. Improve4 ments and modifications to the law are necessary to 

5 ensure that the Act provides effective protection to 

6 those subject to pay discrimination on the basis of 

7 their sex. 

8 (C) Elimination of such barriers would have 

9 positive effects, including— 

10 (i) providing a solution to problems in the 

11 economy created by unfair pay disparities; 

12 (ii) substantially reducing the number of 

13 working women earning unfairly low wages, 

14 thereby reducing the dependence on public as15 sistance; 

16 (iii) promoting stable families by enabling 

17 all family members to earn a fair rate of pay; 

18 (iv) remedying the effects of past discrimi19 nation on the basis of sex and ensuring that in 

20 the future workers are afforded equal protection 

21 on the basis of sex; and 

22 (v) ensuring equal protection pursuant to 

23 Congress’ power to enforce the 5th and 14th 

24 Amendments to the Constitution. 


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1 (6) The Department of Labor and the Equal 

2 Employment Opportunity Commission carry out 

3 functions to help ensure that women receive equal 

4 pay for equal work. 

5 (7) The Department of Labor is responsible 

6 for— 

7 (A) collecting and making publicly avail8 able information about women’s pay; 

9 (B) ensuring that companies receiving 

10 Federal contracts comply with anti-discrimina11 tion affirmative action requirements of Execu12 tive Order 11246 (relating to equal employment 

13 opportunity); 

14 (C) disseminating information about wom15 en’s rights in the workplace; 

16 (D) helping women who have been victims 

17 of pay discrimination obtain a remedy; and 

18 (E) investigating and prosecuting systemic 

19 gender based pay discrimination involving gov20 ernment contractors. 

21 (8) The Equal Employment Opportunity Com22 mission is the primary enforcement agency for 

23 claims made under the Equal Pay Act of 1963, and 

24 issues regulations and guidance on appropriate in25 terpretations of the law. 


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1 (9) Vigorous implementation by the Depart2 ment of Labor and the Equal Employment Oppor3 tunity Commission, increased information as a result 

4 of the amendments made by this Act, wage data, 

5 and more effective remedies, will ensure that women 

6 are better able to recognize and enforce their rights. 

7 (10) Certain employers have already made 

8 great strides in eradicating unfair pay disparities in 

9 the workplace and their achievements should be rec10 ognized. 

11 SEC. 3. ENHANCED ENFORCEMENT OF EQUAL PAY RE12 QUIREMENTS. 

13 (a) BONA FIDE FACTOR DEFENSE AND MODIFICA14 TION OF SAME ESTABLISHMENT REQUIREMENT.—Section 

15 6(d)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 

16 U.S.C. 206(d)(1)) is amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘No employer having’’ and in18 serting ‘‘(A) No employer having’’; 

19 (2) by striking ‘‘any other factor other than 

20 sex’’ and inserting ‘‘a bona fide factor other than 

21 sex, such as education, training, or experience’’; and 

22 (3) by inserting at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(B) The bona fide factor defense described in sub24 paragraph (A)(iv) shall apply only if the employer dem25 onstrates that such factor (i) is not based upon or derived 


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1 from a sex-based differential in compensation; (ii) is job2 related with respect to the position in question; (iii) is con3 sistent with business necessity; and (iv) accounts for the 

4 entire differential in compensation at issue. Such defense 

5 shall not apply where the employee demonstrates that an 

6 alternative employment practice exists that would serve 

7 the same business purpose without producing such dif8 ferential and that the employer has refused to adopt such 

9 alternative practice. 

10 ‘‘(C) For purposes of subparagraph (A), employees 

11 shall be deemed to work in the same establishment if the 

12 employees work for the same employer at workplaces lo13 cated in the same county or similar political subdivision 

14 of a State. The preceding sentence shall not be construed 

15 as limiting broader applications of the term ‘establish16 ment’ consistent with rules prescribed or guidance issued 

17 by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.’’. 

18 (b) NONRETALIATION PROVISION.—Section 15 of the 

19 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 215) is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a)— 

22 (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘em23 ployee has filed’’ and all that follows and insert24 ing ‘‘employee— 


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1 ‘‘(A) has made a charge or filed any com2 plaint or instituted or caused to be instituted 

3 any investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action 

4 under or related to this Act, including an inves5 tigation conducted by the employer, or has tes6 tified or is planning to testify or has assisted or 

7 participated in any manner in any such inves8 tigation, proceeding, hearing or action, or has 

9 served or is planning to serve on an industry 

10 committee; or 

11 ‘‘(B) has inquired about, discussed, or dis12 closed the wages of the employee or another 

13 employee (such as by inquiring or discussing 

14 with the employer why the wages of the em15 ployee are set at a certain rate or salary);’’; 

16 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking the pe17 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

18 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(6) to require an employee to sign a contract 

20 or waiver that would prohibit the employee from dis21 closing information about the employee’s wages.’’; 

22 and 

23 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(c) Subsection (a)(3)(B) shall not apply to instances 

25 in which an employee who has access to the wage informaVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:19 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2490.IH H2490

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1 tion of other employees as a part of such employee’s essen2 tial job functions discloses the wages of such other employ3 ees to individuals who do not otherwise have access to such 

4 information, unless such disclosure is in response to a 

5 complaint or charge or in furtherance of an investigation, 

6 proceeding, hearing, or action under section 6(d), includ7 ing an investigation conducted by the employer. Nothing 

8 in this subsection shall be construed to limit the rights 

9 of an employee provided under any other provision of 

10 law.’’. 

11 (c) ENHANCED PENALTIES.—Section 16(b) of the 

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

13 amended— 

14 (1) by inserting after the first sentence the fol15 lowing: ‘‘Any employer who violates section 6(d) 

16 shall additionally be liable for such compensatory 

17 damages, or, where the employee demonstrates that 

18 the employer acted with malice or reckless indiffer19 ence, punitive damages as may be appropriate, ex20 cept that the United States shall not be liable for 

21 punitive damages.’’; 

22 (2) in the sentence beginning ‘‘An action to’’, 

23 by striking ‘‘the preceding sentences’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘any of the preceding sentences of this subsection’’; 


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1 (3) in the sentence beginning ‘‘No employees 

2 shall’’, by striking ‘‘No employees’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘Except with respect to class actions brought to en4 force section 6(d), no employee’’; 

5 (4) by inserting after the sentence referred to 

6 in paragraph (3), the following: ‘‘Notwithstanding 

7 any other provision of Federal law, any action 

8 brought to enforce section 6(d) may be maintained 

9 as a class action as provided by the Federal Rules 

10 of Civil Procedure.’’; and 

11 (5) in the sentence beginning ‘‘The court in’’— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘in such action’’ and in13 serting ‘‘in any action brought to recover the li14 ability prescribed in any of the preceding sen15 tences of this subsection’’; and 

16 (B) by inserting before the period the fol17 lowing: ‘‘, including expert fees’’. 

18 (d) ACTION BY SECRETARY.—Section 16(c) of the 

19 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(c)) is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) in the first sentence— 

22 (A) by inserting ‘‘or, in the case of a viola23 tion of section 6(d), additional compensatory or 

24 punitive damages, as described in subsection 

25 (b),’’ before ‘‘and the agreement’’; and 


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1 (B) by inserting before the period the fol2 lowing: ‘‘, or such compensatory or punitive 

3 damages, as appropriate’’; 

4 (2) in the second sentence, by inserting before 

5 the period the following: ‘‘and, in the case of a viola6 tion of section 6(d), additional compensatory or pu7 nitive damages, as described in subsection (b)’’; 

8 (3) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘the first 

9 sentence’’ and inserting ‘‘the first or second sen10 tence’’; and 

11 (4) in the sixth sentence— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘commenced in the case’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘commenced— 

14 ‘‘(1) in the case’’; 

15 (B) by striking the period and inserting ‘‘; 

16 or’’; and 

17 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(2) in the case of a class action brought to en19 force section 6(d), on the date on which the indi20 vidual becomes a party plaintiff to the class action.’’. 

21 SEC. 4. TRAINING. 

22 The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 

23 and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, 

24 subject to the availability of funds appropriated under sec25 tion 11, shall provide training to Commission employees 


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1 and affected individuals and entities on matters involving 

2 discrimination in the payment of wages. 

3 SEC. 5. NEGOTIATION SKILLS TRAINING. 

4 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

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

6 after consultation with the Secretary of Education, 

7 is authorized to establish and carry out a grant pro8 gram. 

9 (2) GRANTS.—In carrying out the program, the 

10 Secretary of Labor may make grants on a competi11 tive basis to eligible entities to carry out negotiation 

12 skills training programs for the purposes of address13 ing pay disparities, including through outreach to 

14 women and girls. 

15 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to re16 ceive a grant under this subsection, an entity shall 

17 be a public agency, such as a State, a local govern18 ment in a metropolitan statistical area (as defined 

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

20 educational agency, or a local educational agency, a 

21 private nonprofit organization, or a community22 based organization. 

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

24 grant under this subsection, an entity shall submit 

25 an application to the Secretary of Labor at such 


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1 time, in such manner, and containing such informa2 tion as the Secretary of Labor may require. 

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

4 grant under this subsection shall use the funds made 

5 available through the grant to carry out an effective 

6 negotiation skills training program for the purposes 

7 described in paragraph (2). 

8 (b) INCORPORATING TRAINING INTO EXISTING PRO9 GRAMS.—The Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of 

10 Education shall issue regulations or policy guidance that 

11 provides for integrating the negotiation skills training, to 

12 the extent practicable, into programs authorized under— 

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

14 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

15 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), the Carl D. Perkins 

16 Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 

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

18 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), and other programs 

19 carried out by the Department of Education that the 

20 Secretary of Education determines to be appro21 priate; and 

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

23 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

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


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1 out by the Department of Labor that the Secretary 

2 of Labor determines to be appropriate. 

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

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

5 the Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary 

6 of Education, shall prepare and submit to Congress a re7 port describing the activities conducted under this section 

8 and evaluating the effectiveness of such activities in 

9 achieving the purposes of this section. 

10 SEC. 6. RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND OUTREACH. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act, and periodically there13 after, the Secretary of Labor shall conduct studies and 

14 provide information to employers, labor organizations, and 

15 the general public concerning the means available to elimi16 nate pay disparities between men and women (including 

17 women who are Asian American, Black or African Amer18 ican, Hispanic American or Latino, Native American or 

19 Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and 

20 White American), including— 

21 (1) conducting and promoting research to de22 velop the means to correct expeditiously the condi23 tions leading to the pay disparities, with specific at24 tention paid to women and girls from historically 

25 underrepresented and minority groups; 


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1 (2) publishing and otherwise making available 

2 to employers, labor organizations, professional asso3 ciations, educational institutions, the media, and the 

4 general public the findings resulting from studies 

5 and other materials, relating to eliminating the pay 

6 disparities; 

7 (3) sponsoring and assisting State, local, and 

8 community informational and educational programs; 

9 (4) providing information to employers, labor 

10 organizations, professional associations, and other 

11 interested persons on the means of eliminating the 

12 pay disparities; and 

13 (5) recognizing and promoting the achievements 

14 of employers, labor organizations, and professional 

15 associations that have worked to eliminate the pay 

16 disparities. 

17 (b) REPORT ON GENDER PAY GAP IN TEENAGE

18 LABOR FORCE.— 

19 (1) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than one 

20 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

21 Secretary of Labor, acting through the Director of 

22 the Women’s Bureau and in coordination with the 

23 Commissioner of Labor Statistics, shall— 

24 (A) submit to Congress a report on the 

25 gender pay gap in the teenage labor force; and 


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1 (B) make the report available on a publicly 

2 accessible website of the Department of Labor. 

3 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report under subsection 

4 (a) shall include the following: 

5 (A) An examination of trends and potential 

6 solutions relating to the teenage gender pay 

7 gap. 

8 (B) An examination of how the teenage 

9 gender pay gap potentially translates into 

10 greater wage gaps in the overall labor force. 

11 (C) An examination of overall lifetime 

12 earnings and losses for informal and formal 

13 jobs for women, including women of color. 

14 (D) An examination of the teenage gender 

15 pay gap, including a comparison of the average 

16 amount earned by males and females, respec17 tively, in informal jobs, such as babysitting and 

18 other freelance jobs, as well as formal jobs, 

19 such as retail, restaurant, and customer service. 

20 (E) A comparison of— 

21 (i) the types of tasks typically per22 formed by women from the teenage years 

23 through adulthood within certain informal 

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1 lance jobs, and formal jobs, such as retail, 

2 restaurant, and customer service; and 

3 (ii) the types of tasks performed by 

4 younger males in such positions. 

5 (F) Interviews and surveys with workers 

6 and employers relating to early gender-based 

7 pay discrepancies. 

8 (G) Recommendations for— 

9 (i) addressing pay inequality for 

10 women from the teenage years through 

11 adulthood, including such women of color; 

12 (ii) addressing any disadvantages ex13 perienced by young women with respect to 

14 work experience and professional develop15 ment; 

16 (iii) the development of standards and 

17 best practices for workers and employees 

18 to ensure better pay for young women and 

19 the prevention of early inequalities in the 

20 workplace; and 

21 (iv) expanding awareness for teenage 

22 girls on pay rates and employment rights 

23 in order to reduce greater inequalities in 

24 the overall labor force. 


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1 SEC. 7. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL AWARD FOR 

2 PAY EQUITY IN THE WORKPLACE. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established the Secretary 

4 of Labor’s National Award for Pay Equity in the Work5 place, which shall be awarded, on an annual basis, to an 

6 employer to encourage proactive efforts to comply with 

7 section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 

8 U.S.C. 206(d)), as amended by this Act. 

9 (b) CRITERIA FOR QUALIFICATION.—The Secretary 

10 of Labor shall set criteria for receipt of the award, includ11 ing a requirement that an employer has made substantial 

12 effort to eliminate pay disparities between men and 

13 women, and deserves special recognition as a consequence 

14 of such effort. The Secretary shall establish procedures for 

15 the application and presentation of the award. 

16 (c) BUSINESS.—In this section, the term ‘‘employer’’ 

17 includes— 

18 (1)(A) a corporation, including a nonprofit cor19 poration; 

20 (B) a partnership; 

21 (C) a professional association; 

22 (D) a labor organization; and 

23 (E) a business entity similar to an entity de24 scribed in any of subparagraphs (A) through (D); 

25 (2) an entity carrying out an education referral 

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1 ship or management training program, or a similar 

2 program; and 

3 (3) an entity carrying out a joint program, 

4 formed by a combination of any entities described in 

5 paragraph (1) or (2). 

6 SEC. 8. COLLECTION OF PAY INFORMATION BY THE EQUAL 

7 EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION. 

8 Section 709 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

9 U.S.C. 2000e–8) is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(f)(1) Not later than 18 months after the date of 

12 enactment of this subsection, the Commission shall pro13 vide for the collection from employers of compensation 

14 data and other employment-related data (including hiring, 

15 termination, and promotion data) disaggregated by the 

16 sex, race, and ethnic identity of employees. 

17 ‘‘(2) In carrying out paragraph (1), the Commission 

18 shall have as its primary consideration the most effective 

19 and efficient means for enhancing the enforcement of Fed20 eral laws prohibiting pay discrimination. For this purpose, 

21 the Commission shall consider factors including the impo22 sition of burdens on employers, the frequency of required 

23 reports (including the size of employers required to pre24 pare reports), appropriate protections for maintaining 


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1 data confidentiality, and the most effective format to re2 port such data. 

3 ‘‘(3)(A) For each 12-month reporting period for an 

4 employer, the compensation data collected under para5 graph (1) shall include, for each range of taxable com6 pensation described in subparagraph (B), disaggregated 

7 by the categories described in subparagraph (E)— 

8 ‘‘(i) the number of employees of the employer 

9 who earn taxable compensation in an amount that 

10 falls within such taxable compensation range; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the total number of hours worked by such 

12 employees. 

13 ‘‘(B) Subject to adjustment under subparagraph (C), 

14 the taxable compensation ranges described in this sub15 paragraph are as follows: 

16 ‘‘(i) Not more than $19,239. 

17 ‘‘(ii) Not less than $19,240 and not more than 

18 $24,439. 

19 ‘‘(iii) Not less than $24,440 and not more than 

20 $30,679. 

21 ‘‘(iv) Not less than $30,680 and not more than 

22 $38,999. 

23 ‘‘(v) Not less than $39,000 and not more than 

24 $49,919. 


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1 ‘‘(vi) Not less than $49,920 and not more than 

2 $62,919. 

3 ‘‘(vii) Not less than $62,920 and not more than 

4 $80,079. 

5 ‘‘(viii) Not less than $80,080 and not more 

6 than $101,919. 

7 ‘‘(ix) Not less than $101,920 and not more 

8 than $128,959. 

9 ‘‘(x) Not less than $128,960 and not more than 

10 $163,799. 

11 ‘‘(xi) Not less than $163,800 and not more 

12 than $207,999. 

13 ‘‘(xii) Not less than $208,000. 

14 ‘‘(C) The Commission may adjust the taxable com15 pensation ranges under subparagraph (B)— 

16 ‘‘(i) if the Commission determines that such ad17 justment is necessary to enhance enforcement of 

18 Federal laws prohibiting pay discrimination; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) for inflation, in consultation with the Bu20 reau of Labor Statistics. 

21 ‘‘(D) In collecting data described in subparagraph 

22 (A)(ii), the Commission shall provide that, with respect 

23 to an employee who the employer is not required to com24 pensate for overtime employment under section 7 of the 


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1 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 207), an 

2 employer may report— 

3 ‘‘(i) in the case of a full-time employee, that 

4 such employee works 40 hours per week, and in the 

5 case of a part-time employee, that such employee 

6 works 20 hours per week; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) the actual number of hours worked by 

8 such employee. 

9 ‘‘(E) The categories described in this subparagraph 

10 shall be determined by the Commission and shall in11 clude— 

12 ‘‘(i) race; 

13 ‘‘(ii) ethnic identity; 

14 ‘‘(iii) sex; and 

15 ‘‘(iv) job categories, including the job categories 

16 described in the instructions for the Equal Employ17 ment Opportunity Employer Information Report 

18 EEO–1, as in effect on the date of the enactment 

19 of this subsection. 

20 ‘‘(F) The Commission shall use the compensation 

21 data collected under paragraph (1)— 

22 ‘‘(i) to enhance— 

23 ‘‘(I) the investigation of charges filed 

24 under section 706 or section 6(d) of the Fair 


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1 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

2 206(d)); and 

3 ‘‘(II) the allocation of resources to inves4 tigate such charges; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) for any other purpose that the Commission 

6 determines appropriate. 

7 ‘‘(G) The Commission shall annually make publicly 

8 available aggregate compensation data collected under 

9 paragraph (1) for the categories described in subpara10 graph (E), disaggregated by industry, occupation, and 

11 core based statistical area (as defined by the Office of 

12 Management and Budget). 

13 ‘‘(4) The compensation data under paragraph (1) 

14 shall be collected from each employer that— 

15 ‘‘(A) is a private employer that has 100 or 

16 more employees, including such an employer that is 

17 a contractor with the Federal Government, or a sub18 contractor at any tier thereof; or 

19 ‘‘(B) the Commission determines appropriate.’’. 

20 SEC. 9. REINSTATEMENT OF PAY EQUITY PROGRAMS AND 

21 PAY EQUITY DATA COLLECTION. 

22 (a) BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS DATA COLLEC23 TION.—The Commissioner of Labor Statistics shall con24 tinue to collect data on women workers in the Current 

25 Employment Statistics survey. 


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1 (b) OFFICE OF FEDERAL CONTRACT COMPLIANCE

2 PROGRAMS INITIATIVES.—The Director of the Office of 

3 Federal Contract Compliance Programs shall ensure that 

4 employees of the Office— 

5 (1)(A) shall use the full range of investigatory 

6 tools at the Office’s disposal, including pay grade 

7 methodology; 

8 (B) in considering evidence of possible com9 pensation discrimination— 

10 (i) shall not limit its consideration to a 

11 small number of types of evidence; and 

12 (ii) shall not limit its evaluation of the evi13 dence to a small number of methods of evalu14 ating the evidence; and 

15 (C) shall not require a multiple regression anal16 ysis or anecdotal evidence for a compensation dis17 crimination case; 

18 (2) for purposes of its investigative, compliance, 

19 and enforcement activities, shall define ‘‘similarly 

20 situated employees’’ in a way that is consistent with 

21 and not more stringent than the definition provided 

22 in item 1 of subsection A of section 10–III of the 

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1 tors that the Office’s investigation reveals were used 

2 in making compensation decisions; and 

3 (3) shall implement a survey to collect com4 pensation data and other employment-related data 

5 (including hiring, termination, and promotion data) 

6 and designate not less than half of all nonconstruc7 tion contractor establishments each year to prepare 

8 and file such survey, and shall review and utilize the 

9 responses to such survey to identify contractor es10 tablishments for further evaluation and for other en11 forcement purposes as appropriate. 

12 (c) DEPARTMENT OF LABOR DISTRIBUTION OF

13 WAGE DISCRIMINATION INFORMATION.—The Secretary of 

14 Labor shall make readily available (in print, on the De15 partment of Labor website, and through any other forum 

16 that the Department may use to distribute compensation 

17 discrimination information), accurate information on com18 pensation discrimination, including statistics, explanations 

19 of employee rights, historical analyses of such discrimina20 tion, instructions for employers on compliance, and any 

21 other information that will assist the public in under22 standing and addressing such discrimination. 


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1 SEC. 10. PROHIBITIONS RELATING TO PROSPECTIVE EM2 PLOYEES’ SALARY AND BENEFIT HISTORY. 

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

4 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) is amended by inserting 

5 after section 7 the following new section: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 8. REQUIREMENTS AND PROHIBITIONS RELATING TO 

7 WAGE, SALARY, AND BENEFIT HISTORY. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be an unlawful practice 

9 for an employer to— 

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

11 employee in considering the prospective employee for 

12 employment, including requiring that a prospective 

13 employee’s prior wages satisfy minimum or max14 imum criteria as a condition of being considered for 

15 employment; 

16 ‘‘(2) rely on the wage history of a prospective 

17 employee in determining the wages for such prospec18 tive employee, except that an employer may rely on 

19 wage history if it is voluntarily provided by a pro20 spective employee, after the employer makes an offer 

21 of employment with an offer of compensation to the 

22 prospective employee, to support a wage higher than 

23 the wage offered by the employer; 

24 ‘‘(3) seek from a prospective employee or any 

25 current or former employer the wage history of the 

26 prospective employee, except that an employer may 


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1 seek to confirm prior wage information only after an 

2 offer of employment with compensation has been 

3 made to the prospective employee and the prospec4 tive employee responds to the offer by providing 

5 prior wage information to support a wage higher 

6 than that offered by the employer; or 

7 ‘‘(4) discharge or in any other manner retaliate 

8 against any employee or prospective employee be9 cause the employee or prospective employee— 

10 ‘‘(A) opposed any act or practice made un11 lawful by this section; or 

12 ‘‘(B) took an action for which discrimina13 tion is forbidden under section 15(a)(3). 

14 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘wage 

15 history’ means the wages paid to the prospective employee 

16 by the prospective employee’s current employer or previous 

17 employer.’’. 

18 (b) PENALTIES.—Section 16 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 

19 216) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

20 subsection: 

21 ‘‘(f)(1) Any person who violates the provisions of sec22 tion 8 shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) be subject to a civil penalty of $5,000 for 

24 a first offense, increased by an additional $1,000 for 

25 each subsequent offense, not to exceed $10,000; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) be liable to each employee or prospective 

2 employee who was the subject of the violation for 

3 special damages not to exceed $10,000 plus attor4 neys’ fees, and shall be subject to such injunctive re5 lief as may be appropriate. 

6 ‘‘(2) An action to recover the liability described in 

7 paragraph (1)(B) may be maintained against any em8 ployer (including a public agency) in any Federal or State 

9 court of competent jurisdiction by any one or more em10 ployees or prospective employees for and on behalf of— 

11 ‘‘(A) the employees or prospective employees; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(B) other employees or prospective employees 

14 similarly situated.’’. 

15 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

16 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

18 necessary to carry out this Act. 

19 (b) PROHIBITION ON EARMARKS.—None of the funds 

20 appropriated pursuant to subsection (a) for purposes of 

21 the grant program in section 5 of this Act may be used 

22 for a congressional earmark as defined in clause 9(e) of 

23 rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 


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1 SEC. 12. SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE. 

2 (a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act and the amend3 ments made by this Act shall take effect on the date that 

4 is 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act. 

5 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE MATERIALS.—The Sec6 retary of Labor and the Commissioner of the Equal Em7 ployment Opportunity Commission shall jointly develop 

8 technical assistance material to assist small enterprises in 

9 complying with the requirements of this Act and the 

10 amendments made by this Act. 

11 (c) SMALL BUSINESSES.—A small enterprise shall be 

12 exempt from the provisions of this Act, and the amend13 ments made by this Act, to the same extent that such en14 terprise is exempt from the requirements of the Fair 

15 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) pur16 suant to clauses (i) and (ii) of section 3(s)(1)(A) of such 

17 Act (29 U.S.C. 203(s)(1)(A)). 

18 SEC. 13. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

19 Nothing in this Act, or in any amendments made by 

20 this Act, shall affect the obligation of employers and em21 ployees to fully comply with all applicable immigration 

22 laws, including being subject to any penalties, fines, or 

23 other sanctions. 

24 SEC. 14. SEVERABILITY. 

25 If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by 

26 this Act, or the application of that provision or amendVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:19 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2490.IH H2490

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1 ment to particular persons or circumstances is held invalid 

2 or found to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, 

3 the amendments made by this Act, or the application of 

4 that provision to other persons or circumstances shall not 

5 be affected. 

Æ 


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