I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 7 

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 

JANUARY 30, 2019 

Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. HOYER, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. 

SCOTT of Virginia, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. BROWNLEY of 

California, Mr. SABLAN, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. TONKO, Mr. COOPER, Ms. 

SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. HASTINGS, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. POCAN, Mr. WELCH, 

Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. RICHMOND, Ms. FRANKEL, Ms. 

CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mrs. LOWEY, 

Mrs. TORRES of California, Mr. NADLER, Mr. CLAY, Mr. BRENDAN F. 

BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. JACKSON

LEE, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. PANETTA, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. 

SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. VELA, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 

MCEACHIN, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. 

SCHIFF, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Ms. MATSUI, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. 

CORREA, Mr. MOULTON, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. 

DEGETTE, Ms. BONAMICI, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. LUJA ́N, Mr. LANGEVIN, Ms. WILD, Mr. 

MCNERNEY, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. BEYER, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. 

PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Ms. 

CLARKE of New York, Mr. HECK, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. 

LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Miss RICE

of New York, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. KILMER, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. 

SMITH of Washington, Ms. BASS, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. CARBAJAL, Ms. 

WILSON of Florida, Mr. COHEN, Ms. MENG, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. BLUNT

ROCHESTER, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. 

VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. SOTO, Mr. 

LARSEN of Washington, Mr. EVANS, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. 

SCHRADER, Mr. NORCROSS, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. 

RASKIN, Mr. HIMES, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. 

O’HALLERAN, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. LEE of 

California, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. LYNCH, 

Mr. PASCRELL, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. COSTA, Mr. RUIZ, Mr. GONZALEZ of 

Texas, Ms. ESHOO, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. 


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CISNEROS, Mr. RUSH, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. HAALAND, Ms. 

GABBARD, Mr. CRIST, Ms. OMAR, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. LEVIN

of Michigan, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. KEATING, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Mr. LAMB, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mr. SIRES, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. PETERS, Mr. KENNEDY, Ms. MOORE, Mr. BERA, Ms. 

JAYAPAL, Mrs. BUSTOS, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. 

GALLEGO, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. PAPPAS, Ms. DEAN, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, 

Ms. HILL of California, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Ms. SHALALA, 

Mr. CASE, Mrs. LEE of Nevada, Mr. ALLRED, Mr. AGUILAR, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. COX of California, Mr. 

BUTTERFIELD, Ms. PLASKETT, Mrs. CRAIG, Mr. ROUDA, Mrs. TRAHAN, 

Mr. GOLDEN, Mrs. LURIA, Mr. BRINDISI, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. TLAIB, 

Ms. WEXTON, Ms. UNDERWOOD, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. PORTER, Mr. 

NEGUSE, Mr. DELGADO, Ms. HOULAHAN, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mrs. 

HAYES, Mr. LEVIN of California, Mr. RYAN, Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas, Ms. 

PRESSLEY, Ms. DELBENE, Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of Oklahoma, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, 

Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. ROSE of New York, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, 

Mrs. MURPHY, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. 

LOEBSACK, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. JEFFRIES, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. TITUS, Mrs. 

KIRKPATRICK, Mr. VAN DREW, Mr. KIM, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. THOMPSON

of California, Ms. SCHRIER, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. KIND, Mrs. AXNE, Ms. 

WATERS, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. NEAL, Mr. 

PETERSON, Mr. SUOZZI, Ms. SLOTKIN, Mr. CROW, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mr. 

STANTON, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Ms. FINKENAUER, Ms. MUCARSEL-POWELL, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. TRONE, Ms. 

SPANBERGER, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. CASTEN of Illinois, Mr. MCADAMS, 

Ms. ESCOBAR, Mrs. MCBATH, Mrs. FLETCHER, Ms. TORRES SMALL of 

New Mexico, Ms. STEVENS, Mr. PHILLIPS, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Mr. SAN

NICOLAS, and Mr. HARDER of California) 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Paycheck Fairness 

3 Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Women have entered the workforce in 

7 record numbers over the past 50 years. 

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

9 of 1963, many women continue to earn significantly 

10 lower pay than men for equal work. These pay dis11 parities exist in both the private and governmental 

12 sectors. In many instances, the pay disparities can 

13 only be due to continued intentional discrimination 

14 or the lingering effects of past discrimination. 

15 (3) The existence of such pay disparities— 

16 (A) depresses the wages of working fami17 lies who rely on the wages of all members of the 

18 family to make ends meet; 

19 (B) undermines women’s retirement secu20 rity, which is often based on earnings while in 

21 the workforce; 

22 (C) prevents the optimum utilization of 

23 available labor resources; 

24 (D) has been spread and perpetuated, 

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1 mentalities of commerce, among the workers of 

2 the several States; 

3 (E) burdens commerce and the free flow of 

4 goods in commerce; 

5 (F) constitutes an unfair method of com6 petition in commerce; 

7 (G) leads to labor disputes burdening and 

8 obstructing commerce and the free flow of 

9 goods in commerce; 

10 (H) interferes with the orderly and fair 

11 marketing of goods in commerce; and 

12 (I) in many instances, may deprive workers 

13 of equal protection on the basis of sex in viola14 tion of the 5th and 14th Amendments. 

15 (4)(A) Artificial barriers to the elimination of 

16 discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis 

17 of sex continue to exist decades after the enactment 

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

19 201 et seq.) and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

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

21 (B) These barriers have resulted, in significant 

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

23 worked as Congress originally intended. Improve24 ments and modifications to the law are necessary to 

25 ensure that the Act provides effective protection to 


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1 those subject to pay discrimination on the basis of 

2 their sex. 

3 (C) Elimination of such barriers would have 

4 positive effects, including— 

5 (i) providing a solution to problems in the 

6 economy created by unfair pay disparities; 

7 (ii) substantially reducing the number of 

8 working women earning unfairly low wages, 

9 thereby reducing the dependence on public as10 sistance; 

11 (iii) promoting stable families by enabling 

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

13 (iv) remedying the effects of past discrimi14 nation on the basis of sex and ensuring that in 

15 the future workers are afforded equal protection 

16 on the basis of sex; and 

17 (v) ensuring equal protection pursuant to 

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

19 Amendments. 

20 (5) The Department of Labor and the Equal 

21 Employment Opportunity Commission have impor22 tant and unique responsibilities to help ensure that 

23 women receive equal pay for equal work. 

24 (6) The Department of Labor is responsible 

25 for— 


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1 (A) collecting and making publicly avail2 able information about women’s pay; 

3 (B) ensuring that companies receiving 

4 Federal contracts comply with anti-discrimina5 tion affirmative action requirements of Execu6 tive Order 11246 (relating to equal employment 

7 opportunity); 

8 (C) disseminating information about wom9 en’s rights in the workplace; 

10 (D) helping women who have been victims 

11 of pay discrimination obtain a remedy; and 

12 (E) being proactive in investigating and 

13 prosecuting equal pay violations, especially sys14 temic violations, and in enforcing all of its man15 dates. 

16 (7) The Equal Employment Opportunity Com17 mission is the primary enforcement agency for 

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

19 issues regulations and guidance on appropriate in20 terpretations of the law. 

21 (8) With a stronger commitment by the Depart22 ment of Labor and the Equal Employment Oppor23 tunity Commission to their responsibilities, increased 

24 information as a result of the amendments made by 

25 this Act to the Equal Pay Act of 1963, wage data, 


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1 and more effective remedies, women will be better 

2 able to recognize and enforce their rights. 

3 (9) Certain employers have already made great 

4 strides in eradicating unfair pay disparities in the 

5 workplace and their achievements should be recog6 nized. 

7 SEC. 3. ENHANCED ENFORCEMENT OF EQUAL PAY RE8 QUIREMENTS. 

9 (a) BONA FIDE FACTOR DEFENSE AND MODIFICA10 TION OF SAME ESTABLISHMENT REQUIREMENT.—Section 

11 6(d)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 

12 U.S.C. 206(d)(1)) is amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘No employer having’’ and in14 serting ‘‘(A) No employer having’’; 

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

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

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

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

19 ‘‘(B) The bona fide factor defense described in sub20 paragraph (A)(iv) shall apply only if the employer dem21 onstrates that such factor (i) is not based upon or derived 

22 from a sex-based differential in compensation; (ii) is job23 related with respect to the position in question; (iii) is con24 sistent with business necessity; and (iv) accounts for the 

25 entire differential in compensation at issue. Such defense 


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1 shall not apply where the employee demonstrates that an 

2 alternative employment practice exists that would serve 

3 the same business purpose without producing such dif4 ferential and that the employer has refused to adopt such 

5 alternative practice. 

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

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

8 employees work for the same employer at workplaces lo9 cated in the same county or similar political subdivision 

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

11 as limiting broader applications of the term ‘establish12 ment’ consistent with rules prescribed or guidance issued 

13 by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.’’. 

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

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

16 amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a)— 

18 (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘em19 ployee has filed’’ and all that follows and insert20 ing ‘‘employee— 

21 ‘‘(A) has made a charge or filed any com22 plaint or instituted or caused to be instituted 

23 any investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action 

24 under or related to this Act, including an inves25 tigation conducted by the employer, or has tesVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 Feb 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7.IH H7

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1 tified or is planning to testify or has assisted or 

2 participated in any manner in any such inves3 tigation, proceeding, hearing or action, or has 

4 served or is planning to serve on an industry 

5 committee; or 

6 ‘‘(B) has inquired about, discussed, or dis7 closed the wages of the employee or another 

8 employee;’’; 

9 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking the pe10 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

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

13 or waiver that would prohibit the employee from dis14 closing information about the employee’s wages.’’; 

15 and 

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

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

18 in which an employee who has access to the wage informa19 tion of other employees as a part of such employee’s essen20 tial job functions discloses the wages of such other employ21 ees to individuals who do not otherwise have access to such 

22 information, unless such disclosure is in response to a 

23 complaint or charge or in furtherance of an investigation, 

24 proceeding, hearing, or action under section 6(d), includ25 ing an investigation conducted by the employer. Nothing 


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1 in this subsection shall be construed to limit the rights 

2 of an employee provided under any other provision of 

3 law.’’. 

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

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

6 amended— 

7 (1) by inserting after the first sentence the fol8 lowing: ‘‘Any employer who violates section 6(d) 

9 shall additionally be liable for such compensatory 

10 damages, or, where the employee demonstrates that 

11 the employer acted with malice or reckless indiffer12 ence, punitive damages as may be appropriate, ex13 cept that the United States shall not be liable for 

14 punitive damages.’’; 

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

16 by striking ‘‘either of the preceding sentences’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘any of the preceding sentences of this 

18 subsection’’; 

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

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

21 ‘‘Except with respect to class actions brought to en22 force section 6(d), no employee’’; 

23 (4) by inserting after the sentence referred to 

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

25 any other provision of Federal law, any action 


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

2 as a class action as provided by the Federal Rules 

3 of Civil Procedure.’’; and 

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

5 (A) by striking ‘‘in such action’’ and in6 serting ‘‘in any action brought to recover the li7 ability prescribed in any of the preceding sen8 tences of this subsection’’; and 

9 (B) by inserting before the period the fol10 lowing: ‘‘, including expert fees’’. 

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

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

13 amended— 

14 (1) in the first sentence— 

15 (A) by inserting ‘‘or, in the case of a viola16 tion of section 6(d), additional compensatory or 

17 punitive damages, as described in subsection 

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

19 (B) by inserting before the period the fol20 lowing: ‘‘, or such compensatory or punitive 

21 damages, as appropriate’’; 

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

23 the period the following: ‘‘and, in the case of a viola24 tion of section 6(d), additional compensatory or pu25 nitive damages, as described in subsection (b)’’; 


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

2 sentence’’ and inserting ‘‘the first or second sen3 tence’’; and 

4 (4) in the sixth sentence— 

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

6 and inserting ‘‘commenced— 

7 ‘‘(1) in the case’’; 

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

9 or’’; and 

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

11 ‘‘(2) in the case of a class action brought to en12 force section 6(d), on the date on which the indi13 vidual becomes a party plaintiff to the class action.’’. 

14 SEC. 4. TRAINING. 

15 The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 

16 and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, 

17 subject to the availability of funds appropriated under sec18 tion 11, shall provide training to Commission employees 

19 and affected individuals and entities on matters involving 

20 discrimination in the payment of wages. 

21 SEC. 5. NEGOTIATION SKILLS TRAINING FOR GIRLS AND 

22 WOMEN. 

23 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

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

25 after consultation with the Secretary of Education, 


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1 is authorized to establish and carry out a grant pro2 gram. 

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

4 Secretary of Labor may make grants on a competi5 tive basis to eligible entities, to carry out negotiation 

6 skills training programs for girls and women. 

7 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to re8 ceive a grant under this subsection, an entity shall 

9 be a public agency, such as a State, a local govern10 ment in a metropolitan statistical area (as defined 

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

12 educational agency, or a local educational agency, a 

13 private nonprofit organization, or a community14 based organization. 

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

16 grant under this subsection, an entity shall submit 

17 an application to the Secretary of Labor at such 

18 time, in such manner, and containing such informa19 tion as the Secretary of Labor may require. 

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

21 grant under this subsection shall use the funds made 

22 available through the grant to carry out an effective 

23 negotiation skills training program that empowers 

24 girls and women. The training provided through the 

25 program shall help girls and women strengthen their 


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1 negotiation skills to allow the girls and women to ob2 tain higher salaries and rates of compensation that 

3 are equal to those paid to similarly situated male 

4 employees. 

5 (b) INCORPORATING TRAINING INTO EXISTING PRO6 GRAMS.—The Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of 

7 Education shall issue regulations or policy guidance that 

8 provides for integrating the negotiation skills training, to 

9 the extent practicable, into programs authorized under— 

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

11 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

12 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), the Carl D. Perkins 

13 Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 

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

15 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), and other programs 

16 carried out by the Department of Education that the 

17 Secretary of Education determines to be appro18 priate; and 

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

20 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

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

22 out by the Department of Labor that the Secretary 

23 of Labor determines to be appropriate. 

24 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

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1 retary of Labor and the Secretary of Education shall pre2 pare and submit to Congress a report describing the ac3 tivities conducted under this section and evaluating the ef4 fectiveness of such activities in achieving the purposes of 

5 this Act. 

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

7 The Secretary of Labor shall conduct studies and 

8 provide information to employers, labor organizations, and 

9 the general public concerning the means available to elimi10 nate pay disparities between men and women, including— 

11 (1) conducting and promoting research to de12 velop the means to correct expeditiously the condi13 tions leading to the pay disparities; 

14 (2) publishing and otherwise making available 

15 to employers, labor organizations, professional asso16 ciations, educational institutions, the media, and the 

17 general public the findings resulting from studies 

18 and other materials, relating to eliminating the pay 

19 disparities; 

20 (3) sponsoring and assisting State and commu21 nity informational and educational programs; 

22 (4) providing information to employers, labor 

23 organizations, professional associations, and other 

24 interested persons on the means of eliminating the 

25 pay disparities; 


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1 (5) recognizing and promoting the achievements 

2 of employers, labor organizations, and professional 

3 associations that have worked to eliminate the pay 

4 disparities; and 

5 (6) convening a national summit to discuss, and 

6 consider approaches for rectifying, the pay dispari7 ties. 

8 SEC. 7. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL AWARD FOR 

9 PAY EQUITY IN THE WORKPLACE. 

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

11 of Labor’s National Award for Pay Equity in the Work12 place, which shall be awarded, as appropriate, to encour13 age proactive efforts to comply with section 6(d) of the 

14 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(d)). 

15 (b) CRITERIA FOR QUALIFICATION.—The Secretary 

16 of Labor shall set criteria for receipt of the award, includ17 ing a requirement that an employer has made substantial 

18 effort to eliminate pay disparities between men and 

19 women, and deserves special recognition as a consequence 

20 of such effort. The Secretary shall establish procedures for 

21 the application and presentation of the award. 

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

23 includes— 

24 (1)(A) a corporation, including a nonprofit cor25 poration; 


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1 (B) a partnership; 

2 (C) a professional association; 

3 (D) a labor organization; and 

4 (E) a business entity similar to an entity de5 scribed in any of subparagraphs (A) through (D); 

6 (2) an entity carrying out an education referral 

7 program, a training program, such as an apprentice8 ship or management training program, or a similar 

9 program; and 

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

11 formed by a combination of any entities described in 

12 paragraph (1) or (2). 

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

14 EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION. 

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

16 U.S.C. 2000e–8) is amended by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

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

19 enactment of this subsection, the Commission shall issue 

20 regulations to provide for the collection from employers 

21 of compensation data and other employment-related data 

22 (including hiring, termination, and promotion data) 

23 disaggregated by the sex, race, and national origin of em24 ployees. 


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

2 shall have as its primary consideration the most effective 

3 and efficient means for enhancing the enforcement of Fed4 eral laws prohibiting pay discrimination. For this purpose, 

5 the Commission shall consider factors including the impo6 sition of burdens on employers, the frequency of required 

7 reports (including which employers should be required to 

8 prepare reports), appropriate protections for maintaining 

9 data confidentiality, and the most effective format for re10 ports containing such data.’’. 

11 SEC. 9. REINSTATEMENT OF PAY EQUITY PROGRAMS AND 

12 PAY EQUITY DATA COLLECTION. 

13 (a) BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS DATA COLLEC14 TION.—The Commissioner of Labor Statistics shall con15 tinue to collect data on women workers in the Current 

16 Employment Statistics survey. 

17 (b) OFFICE OF FEDERAL CONTRACT COMPLIANCE

18 PROGRAMS INITIATIVES.—The Director of the Office of 

19 Federal Contract Compliance Programs shall ensure that 

20 employees of the Office— 

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

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

23 methodology; 

24 (B) in considering evidence of possible com25 pensation discrimination— 


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1 (i) shall not limit its consideration to a 

2 small number of types of evidence; and 

3 (ii) shall not limit its evaluation of the evi4 dence to a small number of methods of evalu5 ating the evidence; and 

6 (C) shall not require a multiple regression anal7 ysis or anecdotal evidence for a compensation dis8 crimination case; 

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

10 and enforcement activities, shall define ‘‘similarly 

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

12 and not more stringent than the definition provided 

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

14 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Com15 pliance Manual (2000), and shall consider only fac16 tors that the Office’s investigation reveals were used 

17 in making compensation decisions; and 

18 (3) shall implement a survey to collect com19 pensation data and other employment-related data 

20 (including hiring, termination, and promotion data) 

21 and designate not less than half of all nonconstruc22 tion contractor establishments each year to prepare 

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

24 responses to such survey to identify contractor esVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 Feb 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7.IH H7

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1 tablishments for further evaluation and for other en2 forcement purposes as appropriate. 

3 (c) DEPARTMENT OF LABOR DISTRIBUTION OF

4 WAGE DISCRIMINATION INFORMATION.—The Secretary of 

5 Labor shall make readily available (in print, on the De6 partment of Labor website, and through any other forum 

7 that the Department may use to distribute compensation 

8 discrimination information), accurate information on com9 pensation discrimination, including statistics, explanations 

10 of employee rights, historical analyses of such discrimina11 tion, instructions for employers on compliance, and any 

12 other information that will assist the public in under13 standing and addressing such discrimination. 

14 SEC. 10. PROHIBITIONS RELATING TO PROSPECTIVE EM15 PLOYEES’ SALARY AND BENEFIT HISTORY. 

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

17 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) is amended by inserting 

18 after section 7 the following new section: 

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

20 WAGE, SALARY, AND BENEFIT HISTORY. 

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

22 for an employer to— 

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

24 employee in considering the prospective employee for 

25 employment, including requiring that a prospective 


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1 employee’s prior wages satisfy minimum or max2 imum criteria as a condition of being considered for 

3 employment; 

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

5 employee in determining the wages for such prospec6 tive employee, except that an employer may rely on 

7 wage history if it is voluntarily provided by a pro8 spective employee, after the employer makes an offer 

9 of employment with an offer of compensation to the 

10 prospective employee, to support a wage higher than 

11 the wage offered by the employer; 

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

13 current or former employer the wage history of the 

14 prospective employee, except that an employer may 

15 seek to confirm prior wage information only after an 

16 offer of employment with compensation has been 

17 made to the prospective employee and the prospec18 tive employee responds to the offer by providing 

19 prior wage information to support a wage higher 

20 than that offered by the employer; or 

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

22 against any employee or prospective employee be23 cause the employee or prospective employee— 

24 ‘‘(A) opposed any act or practice made un25 lawful by this section; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) took an action for which discrimina2 tion is forbidden under section 15(a)(3). 

3 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) WAGES; COMPENSATION.—The term 

5 ‘wages’ or ‘compensation’ has the meaning given the 

6 term ‘wages’ in section 6(d). 

7 ‘‘(2) WAGE HISTORY.—The term ‘wage history’ 

8 means the wages paid to the prospective employee by 

9 the prospective employee’s current employer or pre10 vious employer.’’. 

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

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

13 subsection: 

14 ‘‘(f)(1) Any person who violates the provisions of sec15 tion 8 shall— 

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

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

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

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

20 employee who was the subject of the violation for 

21 special damages not to exceed $10,000 plus attor22 neys’ fees, and shall be subject to such injunctive re23 lief as may be appropriate. 

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

25 paragraph (1)(B) may be maintained against any emVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 Feb 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7.IH H7

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1 ployer (including a public agency) in any Federal or State 

2 court of competent jurisdiction by any one or more em3 ployees or prospective employees for and on behalf of— 

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

5 and 

6 ‘‘(B) other employees or prospective employees 

7 similarly situated.’’. 

8 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 to carry 

11 out this Act. 

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

13 appropriated pursuant to subsection (a) for purposes of 

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

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

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

17 SEC. 12. SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE. 

18 (a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act and the amend19 ments made by this Act shall take effect on the date that 

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

21 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE MATERIALS.—The Sec22 retary of Labor and the Commissioner of the Equal Em23 ployment Opportunity Commission shall jointly develop 

24 technical assistance material to assist small businesses in 


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1 complying with the requirements of this Act and the 

2 amendments made by this Act. 

3 (c) SMALL BUSINESSES.—A small business shall be 

4 exempt from the provisions of this Act, and the amend5 ments made by this Act, to the same extent that such busi6 ness is exempt from the requirements of the Fair Labor 

7 Standards Act of 1938 pursuant to clauses (i) and (ii) 

8 of section 3(s)(1)(A) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 

9 203(s)(1)(A)). 

10 SEC. 13. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

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

12 this Act, shall affect the obligation of employers and em13 ployees to fully comply with all applicable immigration 

14 laws, including any penalties, fines, or other sanctions. 

Æ 


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