IB 

Union Calendar No. 6 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 7 

[Report No. 116–18] 

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. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
2 

•HR 7 RH

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. 

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 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
3 

•HR 7 RH

MARCH 18, 2019 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 30, 2019] 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
4 

•HR 7 RH

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. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
5 

•HR 7 RH

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 Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) Women have entered the workforce in record 

8 numbers over the past 50 years. 

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

10 of 1963, many women continue to earn significantly 

11 lower pay than men for equal work. These pay dis12 parities exist in both the private and governmental 

13 sectors. 

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

15 only be due to continued intentional discrimination 

16 or the lingering effects of past discrimination. After 

17 controlling for educational attainment, occupation, 

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

19 force experience roughly 40 percent of the pay gap re20 mains unexplained. 

21 (4) The existence of such pay disparities— 

22 (A) depresses the wages of working families 

23 who rely on the wages of all members of the fam24 ily to make ends meet; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
6 

•HR 7 RH

1 (B) undermines women’s retirement secu2 rity, which is often based on earnings while in 

3 the workforce; 

4 (C) prevents women from realizing their full 

5 economic potential, particularly in terms of 

6 labor force participation and attachment; 

7 (D) has been spread and perpetuated, 

8 through commerce and the channels and instru9 mentalities of commerce, among the workers of 

10 the several States; 

11 (E) burdens commerce and the free flow of 

12 goods in commerce; 

13 (F) constitutes an unfair method of com14 petition in commerce; 

15 (G) tends to cause labor disputes, as evi16 denced by the tens of thousands of charges filed 

17 with the Equal Employment Opportunity Com18 mission against employers between 2010 and 

19 2016; 

20 (H) interferes with the orderly and fair 

21 marketing of goods in commerce; and 

22 (I) in many instances, may deprive workers 

23 of equal protection on the basis of sex in viola24 tion of the 5th and 14th Amendments to the Con25 stitution. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
7 

•HR 7 RH

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

2 discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis 

3 of sex continue to exist decades after the enactment of 

4 the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 

5 et seq.) and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 

6 2000a et seq.). 

7 (B) These barriers have resulted, in significant 

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

9 worked as Congress originally intended. Improve10 ments and modifications to the law are necessary to 

11 ensure that the Act provides effective protection to 

12 those subject to pay discrimination on the basis of 

13 their sex. 

14 (C) Elimination of such barriers would have 

15 positive effects, including— 

16 (i) providing a solution to problems in the 

17 economy created by unfair pay disparities; 

18 (ii) substantially reducing the number of 

19 working women earning unfairly low wages, 

20 thereby reducing the dependence on public assist21 ance; 

22 (iii) promoting stable families by enabling 

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

24 (iv) remedying the effects of past discrimi25 nation on the basis of sex and ensuring that in 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
8 

•HR 7 RH

1 the future workers are afforded equal protection 

2 on the basis of sex; and 

3 (v) ensuring equal protection pursuant to 

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

5 Amendments to the Constitution. 

6 (6) The Department of Labor and the Equal 

7 Employment Opportunity Commission carry out 

8 functions to help ensure that women receive equal pay 

9 for equal work. 

10 (7) The Department of Labor is responsible for— 

11 (A) collecting and making publicly avail12 able information about women’s pay; 

13 (B) ensuring that companies receiving Fed14 eral contracts comply with anti-discrimination 

15 affirmative action requirements of Executive 

16 Order 11246 (relating to equal employment op17 portunity); 

18 (C) disseminating information about wom19 en’s rights in the workplace; 

20 (D) helping women who have been victims 

21 of pay discrimination obtain a remedy; and 

22 (E) investigating and prosecuting systemic 

23 gender based pay discrimination involving gov24 ernment contractors. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
9 

•HR 7 RH

1 (8) The Equal Employment Opportunity Com2 mission is the primary enforcement agency for claims 

3 made under the Equal Pay Act of 1963, and issues 

4 regulations and guidance on appropriate interpreta5 tions of the law. 

6 (9) Vigorous implementation by the Department 

7 of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity 

8 Commission, increased information as a result of the 

9 amendments made by this Act, wage data, and more 

10 effective remedies, will ensure that women are better 

11 able to recognize and enforce their rights. 

12 (10) Certain employers have already made great 

13 strides in eradicating unfair pay disparities in the 

14 workplace and their achievements should be recog15 nized. 

16 SEC. 3. ENHANCED ENFORCEMENT OF EQUAL PAY RE17 QUIREMENTS. 

18 (a) BONA FIDE FACTOR DEFENSE AND MODIFICATION

19 OF SAME ESTABLISHMENT REQUIREMENT.—Section 

20 6(d)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

21 206(d)(1)) is amended— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘No employer having’’ and in23 serting ‘‘(A) No employer having’’; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
10 

•HR 7 RH

1 (2) by striking ‘‘any other factor other than sex’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘a bona fide factor other than sex, such 

3 as education, training, or experience’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘(B) The bona fide factor defense described in subpara6 graph (A)(iv) shall apply only if the employer demonstrates 

7 that such factor (i) is not based upon or derived from a 

8 sex-based differential in compensation; (ii) is job-related 

9 with respect to the position in question; (iii) is consistent 

10 with business necessity; and (iv) accounts for the entire dif11 ferential in compensation at issue. Such defense shall not 

12 apply where the employee demonstrates that an alternative 

13 employment practice exists that would serve the same busi14 ness purpose without producing such differential and that 

15 the employer has refused to adopt such alternative practice. 

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

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

18 employees work for the same employer at workplaces located 

19 in the same county or similar political subdivision of a 

20 State. The preceding sentence shall not be construed as lim21 iting broader applications of the term ‘establishment’ con22 sistent with rules prescribed or guidance issued by the 

23 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
11 

•HR 7 RH

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

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

3 amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (a)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘employee 

6 has filed’’ and all that follows and inserting 

7 ‘‘employee— 

8 ‘‘(A) has made a charge or filed any com9 plaint or instituted or caused to be instituted 

10 any investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action 

11 under or related to this Act, including an inves12 tigation conducted by the employer, or has testi13 fied or is planning to testify or has assisted or 

14 participated in any manner in any such inves15 tigation, proceeding, hearing or action, or has 

16 served or is planning to serve on an industry 

17 committee; or 

18 ‘‘(B) has inquired about, discussed, or dis19 closed the wages of the employee or another em20 ployee;’’; 

21 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking the period 

22 at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
12 

•HR 7 RH

1 ‘‘(6) to require an employee to sign a contract or 

2 waiver that would prohibit the employee from dis3 closing information about the employee’s wages.’’; and 

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

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

6 in which an employee who has access to the wage informa7 tion of other employees as a part of such employee’s essen8 tial job functions discloses the wages of such other employees 

9 to individuals who do not otherwise have access to such in10 formation, unless such disclosure is in response to a com11 plaint or charge or in furtherance of an investigation, pro12 ceeding, hearing, or action under section 6(d), including an 

13 investigation conducted by the employer. Nothing in this 

14 subsection shall be construed to limit the rights of an em15 ployee provided under any other provision of law.’’. 

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

17 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(b)) is amend18 ed— 

19 (1) by inserting after the first sentence the fol20 lowing: ‘‘Any employer who violates section 6(d) shall 

21 additionally be liable for such compensatory damages, 

22 or, where the employee demonstrates that the em23 ployer acted with malice or reckless indifference, pu24 nitive damages as may be appropriate, except that 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
13 

•HR 7 RH

1 the United States shall not be liable for punitive dam2 ages.’’; 

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

4 striking ‘‘the preceding sentences’’ and inserting ‘‘any 

5 of the preceding sentences of this subsection’’; 

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

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

8 ‘‘Except with respect to class actions brought to en9 force section 6(d), no employee’’; 

10 (4) by inserting after the sentence referred to in 

11 paragraph (3), the following: ‘‘Notwithstanding any 

12 other provision of Federal law, any action brought to 

13 enforce section 6(d) may be maintained as a class ac14 tion as provided by the Federal Rules of Civil Proce15 dure.’’; and 

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

17 (A) by striking ‘‘in such action’’ and insert18 ing ‘‘in any action brought to recover the liabil19 ity prescribed in any of the preceding sentences 

20 of this subsection’’; and 

21 (B) by inserting before the period the fol22 lowing: ‘‘, including expert fees’’. 

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

24 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(c)) is amend25 ed— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
14 

•HR 7 RH

1 (1) in the first sentence— 

2 (A) by inserting ‘‘or, in the case of a viola3 tion of section 6(d), additional compensatory or 

4 punitive damages, as described in subsection 

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

6 (B) by inserting before the period the fol7 lowing: ‘‘, or such compensatory or punitive 

8 damages, as appropriate’’; 

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

10 period the following: ‘‘and, in the case of a violation 

11 of section 6(d), additional compensatory or punitive 

12 damages, as described in subsection (b)’’; 

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

14 sentence’’ and inserting ‘‘the first or second sentence’’; 

15 and 

16 (4) in the sixth sentence— 

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

18 and inserting ‘‘commenced— 

19 ‘‘(1) in the case’’; 

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

21 or’’; and 

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

23 ‘‘(2) in the case of a class action brought to en24 force section 6(d), on the date on which the individual 

25 becomes a party plaintiff to the class action.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
15 

•HR 7 RH

1 SEC. 4. TRAINING. 

2 The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and 

3 the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, sub4 ject to the availability of funds appropriated under section 

5 11, shall provide training to Commission employees and af6 fected individuals and entities on matters involving dis7 crimination in the payment of wages. 

8 SEC. 5. NEGOTIATION SKILLS TRAINING. 

9 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

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

11 consultation with the Secretary of Education, is au12 thorized to establish and carry out a grant program. 

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

14 Secretary of Labor may make grants on a competitive 

15 basis to eligible entities to carry out negotiation skills 

16 training programs for the purposes of addressing pay 

17 disparities, including through outreach to women and 

18 girls. 

19 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to re20 ceive a grant under this subsection, an entity shall be 

21 a public agency, such as a State, a local government 

22 in a metropolitan statistical area (as defined by the 

23 Office of Management and Budget), a State edu24 cational agency, or a local educational agency, a pri25 vate nonprofit organization, or a community-based 

26 organization. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
16 

•HR 7 RH

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

2 grant under this subsection, an entity shall submit an 

3 application to the Secretary of Labor at such time, in 

4 such manner, and containing such information as the 

5 Secretary of Labor may require. 

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

7 grant under this subsection shall use the funds made 

8 available through the grant to carry out an effective 

9 negotiation skills training program for the purposes 

10 described in paragraph (2). 

11 (b) INCORPORATING TRAINING INTO EXISTING PRO12 GRAMS.—The Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Edu13 cation shall issue regulations or policy guidance that pro14 vides for integrating the negotiation skills training, to the 

15 extent practicable, into programs authorized under— 

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

17 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

18 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), the Carl D. Perkins Career 

19 and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 

20 2301 et seq.), the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

21 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), and other programs carried out 

22 by the Department of Education that the Secretary of 

23 Education determines to be appropriate; and 

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

25 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
17 

•HR 7 RH

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

2 by the Department of Labor that the Secretary of 

3 Labor determines to be appropriate. 

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

5 of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Sec6 retary of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of Edu7 cation, shall prepare and submit to Congress a report de8 scribing the activities conducted under this section and 

9 evaluating the effectiveness of such activities in achieving 

10 the purposes of this section. 

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

12 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 

13 of this Act, and periodically thereafter, the Secretary of 

14 Labor shall conduct studies and provide information to em15 ployers, labor organizations, and the general public con16 cerning the means available to eliminate pay disparities 

17 between men and women, including— 

18 (1) conducting and promoting research to de19 velop the means to correct expeditiously the conditions 

20 leading to the pay disparities; 

21 (2) publishing and otherwise making available to 

22 employers, labor organizations, professional associa23 tions, educational institutions, the media, and the 

24 general public the findings resulting from studies and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
18 

•HR 7 RH

1 other materials, relating to eliminating the pay dis2 parities; 

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

4 community informational and educational programs; 

5 (4) providing information to employers, labor 

6 organizations, professional associations, and other in7 terested persons on the means of eliminating the pay 

8 disparities; and 

9 (5) recognizing and promoting the achievements 

10 of employers, labor organizations, and professional 

11 associations that have worked to eliminate the pay 

12 disparities. 

13 SEC. 7. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL AWARD FOR 

14 PAY EQUITY IN THE WORKPLACE. 

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

16 of Labor’s National Award for Pay Equity in the Work17 place, which shall be awarded, on an annual basis, to an 

18 employer to encourage proactive efforts to comply with sec19 tion 6(d) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 

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

21 (b) CRITERIA FOR QUALIFICATION.—The Secretary of 

22 Labor shall set criteria for receipt of the award, including 

23 a requirement that an employer has made substantial effort 

24 to eliminate pay disparities between men and women, and 

25 deserves special recognition as a consequence of such effort. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
19 

•HR 7 RH

1 The Secretary shall establish procedures for the application 

2 and presentation of the award. 

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

4 includes— 

5 (1)(A) a corporation, including a nonprofit cor6 poration; 

7 (B) a partnership; 

8 (C) a professional association; 

9 (D) a labor organization; and 

10 (E) a business entity similar to an entity de11 scribed in any of subparagraphs (A) through (D); 

12 (2) an entity carrying out an education referral 

13 program, a training program, such as an apprentice14 ship or management training program, or a similar 

15 program; and 

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

17 formed by a combination of any entities described in 

18 paragraph (1) or (2). 

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

20 EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION. 

21 Section 709 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 

22 2000e–8) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(f)(1) Not later than 18 months after the date of en24 actment of this subsection, the Commission shall issue regu25 lations to provide for the collection from employers of comVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Mar 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H7.RH H7

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
20 

•HR 7 RH

1 pensation data and other employment-related data (includ2 ing hiring, termination, and promotion data) disaggregated 

3 by the sex, race, and national origin of employees. 

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

5 shall have as its primary consideration the most effective 

6 and efficient means for enhancing the enforcement of Fed7 eral laws prohibiting pay discrimination. For this purpose, 

8 the Commission shall consider factors including the imposi9 tion of burdens on employers, the frequency of required re10 ports (including the size of employers required to prepare 

11 reports), appropriate protections for maintaining data con12 fidentiality, and the most effective format to report such 

13 data.’’. 

14 SEC. 9. REINSTATEMENT OF PAY EQUITY PROGRAMS AND 

15 PAY EQUITY DATA COLLECTION. 

16 (a) BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS DATA COLLEC17 TION.—The Commissioner of Labor Statistics shall con18 tinue to collect data on women workers in the Current Em19 ployment Statistics survey. 

20 (b) OFFICE OF FEDERAL CONTRACT COMPLIANCE

21 PROGRAMS INITIATIVES.—The Director of the Office of Fed22 eral Contract Compliance Programs shall ensure that em23 ployees of the Office— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
21 

•HR 7 RH

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

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

3 methodology; 

4 (B) in considering evidence of possible compensa5 tion discrimination— 

6 (i) shall not limit its consideration to a 

7 small number of types of evidence; and 

8 (ii) shall not limit its evaluation of the evi9 dence to a small number of methods of evalu10 ating the evidence; and 

11 (C) shall not require a multiple regression anal12 ysis or anecdotal evidence for a compensation dis13 crimination case; 

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

15 and enforcement activities, shall define ‘‘similarly sit16 uated employees’’ in a way that is consistent with 

17 and not more stringent than the definition provided 

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

19 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Com20 pliance Manual (2000), and shall consider only fac21 tors that the Office’s investigation reveals were used 

22 in making compensation decisions; and 

23 (3) shall implement a survey to collect compensa24 tion data and other employment-related data (includ25 ing hiring, termination, and promotion data) and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
22 

•HR 7 RH

1 designate not less than half of all nonconstruction 

2 contractor establishments each year to prepare and 

3 file such survey, and shall review and utilize the re4 sponses to such survey to identify contractor establish5 ments for further evaluation and for other enforce6 ment purposes as appropriate. 

7 (c) DEPARTMENT OF LABOR DISTRIBUTION OF WAGE

8 DISCRIMINATION INFORMATION.—The Secretary of Labor 

9 shall make readily available (in print, on the Department 

10 of Labor website, and through any other forum that the De11 partment may use to distribute compensation discrimina12 tion information), accurate information on compensation 

13 discrimination, including statistics, explanations of em14 ployee rights, historical analyses of such discrimination, in15 structions for employers on compliance, and any other in16 formation that will assist the public in understanding and 

17 addressing such discrimination. 

18 SEC. 10. PROHIBITIONS RELATING TO PROSPECTIVE EM19 PLOYEES’ SALARY AND BENEFIT HISTORY. 

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

21 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 

22 section 7 the following new section: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
23 

•HR 7 RH

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

2 WAGE, SALARY, AND BENEFIT HISTORY. 

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

4 for an employer to— 

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

6 employee in considering the prospective employee for 

7 employment, including requiring that a prospective 

8 employee’s prior wages satisfy minimum or max9 imum criteria as a condition of being considered for 

10 employment; 

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

12 employee in determining the wages for such prospec13 tive employee, except that an employer may rely on 

14 wage history if it is voluntarily provided by a pro15 spective employee, after the employer makes an offer 

16 of employment with an offer of compensation to the 

17 prospective employee, to support a wage higher than 

18 the wage offered by the employer; 

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

20 current or former employer the wage history of the 

21 prospective employee, except that an employer may 

22 seek to confirm prior wage information only after an 

23 offer of employment with compensation has been 

24 made to the prospective employee and the prospective 

25 employee responds to the offer by providing prior 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
24 

•HR 7 RH

1 wage information to support a wage higher than that 

2 offered by the employer; or 

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

4 against any employee or prospective employee because 

5 the employee or prospective employee— 

6 ‘‘(A) opposed any act or practice made un7 lawful by this section; or 

8 ‘‘(B) took an action for which discrimina9 tion is forbidden under section 15(a)(3). 

10 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘wage his11 tory’ means the wages paid to the prospective employee by 

12 the prospective employee’s current employer or previous em13 ployer.’’. 

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

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

16 subsection: 

17 ‘‘(f)(1) Any person who violates the provisions of sec18 tion 8 shall— 

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

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

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

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

23 employee who was the subject of the violation for spe24 cial damages not to exceed $10,000 plus attorneys’ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
25 

•HR 7 RH

1 fees, and shall be subject to such injunctive relief as 

2 may be appropriate. 

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

4 paragraph (1)(B) may be maintained against any em5 ployer (including a public agency) in any Federal or State 

6 court of competent jurisdiction by any one or more employ7 ees or prospective employees for and on behalf of— 

8 ‘‘(A) the employees or prospective employees; and 

9 ‘‘(B) other employees or prospective employees 

10 similarly situated.’’. 

11 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

12 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 

13 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec14 essary to carry out this Act. 

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

16 appropriated pursuant to subsection (a) for purposes of the 

17 grant program in section 5 of this Act may be used for 

18 a congressional earmark as defined in clause 9(e) of rule 

19 XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 

20 SEC. 12. SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE. 

21 (a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act and the amendments 

22 made by this Act shall take effect on the date that is 6 

23 months after the date of enactment of this Act. 

24 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE MATERIALS.—The Sec25 retary of Labor and the Commissioner of the Equal EmVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Mar 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H7.RH H7

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
26 

•HR 7 RH

1 ployment Opportunity Commission shall jointly develop 

2 technical assistance material to assist small enterprises in 

3 complying with the requirements of this Act and the amend4 ments made by this Act. 

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

6 exempt from the provisions of this Act, and the amendments 

7 made by this Act, to the same extent that such enterprise 

8 is exempt from the requirements of the Fair Labor Stand9 ards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) pursuant to clauses 

10 (i) and (ii) of section 3(s)(1)(A) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 

11 203(s)(1)(A)). 

12 SEC. 13. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

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

14 this Act, shall affect the obligation of employers and em15 ployees to fully comply with all applicable immigration 

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

17 other sanctions. 

18 SEC. 14. SEVERABILITY. 

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

20 this Act, or the application of that provision or amendment 

21 to particular persons or circumstances is held invalid or 

22 found to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, the 

23 amendments made by this Act, or the application of that 

24 provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be af25 fected. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 6 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 7 

[Report No. 116–18] 

A BILL 

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 

basis of sex, and for other purposes. discrimination in the payment of wages on the to provide more effective remedies to victims of 

MARCH 18, 2019 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS