I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 12 
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 6, 2009 
Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Mr. DOYLE, Mr. HOYER, Mr. GEORGE MILLER 
of California, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. 
STARK, Mr. ACKERMAN, Ms. CLARKE, Mr. HOLT, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. KIL-
DEE, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Ms. SUTTON, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, 
Mr. ELLISON, Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. NADLER 
of New York, Ms. NORTON, Mr. OBERSTAR, Ms. MATSUI, Mrs. 
TAUSCHER, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. HODES, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. LEE 
of California, Mr. ROTHMAN of New Jersey, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. WEINER, 
Mr. WU, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. HARE, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. 
LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. SESTAK, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. ANDREWS, 
Mr. ARCURI, Mr. BACA, Mr. BECERRA, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. BISHOP of 
New York, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. BOSWELL, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. BRADY 
of Pennsylvania, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CARNAHAN, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, 
Mr. CLAY, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. 
CUMMINGS, Mr. DAVIS of Alabama, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. 
DEFAZIO, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. DICKS, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. FARR, Mr. 
FATTAH, Mr. FILNER, Ms. GIFFORDS, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. HALL of 
New York, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. 
HONDA, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. JOHNSON of Geor-
gia, Mr. KAGEN, Mr. KIND, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. 
LIPINSKI, Mr. LOEBSACK, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Mrs. LOWEY, 
Mr. LYNCH, Mr. MAFFEI, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. MARKEY of Massachu-
setts, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. MICHAUD, Mr. MILLER of 
North Carolina, Mr. MOORE of Kansas, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. 
MORAN of Virginia, Mr. PATRICK MURPHY of Pennsylvania, Mr. OBEY, 
Mr. OLVER, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PETERS, Mr. REYES, Mr. 
RODRIGUEZ, Ms. LINDA T. SANCHEZ of California, Ms. LORETTA 
SANCHEZ of California, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. SCHIFF, Ms. SCHWARTZ, Mr. 
SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Mr. SHER-
MAN, Mr. SIRES, Mr. SKELTON, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. 
TIERNEY, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. TSONGAS, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mr. WALZ, Ms. 
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. WATERS, Ms. WATSON, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. 
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WELCH, Mr. WEXLER, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. YARMUTH, Ms. HARMAN, Ms. 
KAPTUR, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. MCMAHON, Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut, 
Mr. PERRIELLO, Ms. PINGREE of Maine, Mr. POMEROY, Mr. RYAN of 
Ohio, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. VELAZQUEZ, Mr. HEINRICH, 
Mr. BAIRD, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BERRY, Ms. BORDALLO, 
Mr. BRALEY
of Iowa, Ms. CORRINE
BROWN
of Florida, Mr. 
BUTTERFIELD, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. DINGELL, Mrs. 
CHRISTENSEN, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. WATT, 
Mr. STUPAK, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. MUR-
THA, Mr. CARDOZA, Mr. RUSH, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. EDWARDS of Texas, Mr. 
SHULER, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. COOPER, Mr. 
MITCHELL, Mr. PETERSON, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Ms. RICHARD-
SON, Mr. HIGGINS, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. THOMPSON of Cali-
fornia, Mr. COSTELLO, and Mr. KENNEDY) 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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Paycheck Fairness 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Women have entered the workforce in 
record numbers over the past 50 years. 
(2) Despite the enactment of the Equal Pay Act 
in 1963, many women continue to earn significantly 
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lower pay than men for equal work. These pay dis-
parities exist in both the private and governmental 
sectors. In many instances, the pay disparities can 
only be due to continued intentional discrimination 
or the lingering effects of past discrimination. 
(3) The existence of such pay disparities— 
(A) depresses the wages of working fami-
lies who rely on the wages of all members of the 
family to make ends meet; 
(B) undermines women’s retirement secu-
rity, which is often based on earnings while in 
the workforce; 
(C) prevents the optimum utilization of 
available labor resources; 
(D) has been spread and perpetuated, 
through commerce and the channels and instru-
mentalities of commerce, among the workers of 
the several States; 
(E) burdens commerce and the free flow of 
goods in commerce; 
(F) constitutes an unfair method of com-
petition in commerce; 
(G) leads to labor disputes burdening and 
obstructing commerce and the free flow of 
goods in commerce; 
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(iii) promoting stable families by enabling 
all family members to earn a fair rate of pay; 
(iv) remedying the effects of past discrimi-
nation on the basis of sex and ensuring that in 
the future workers are afforded equal protection 
on the basis of sex; and 
(v) ensuring equal protection pursuant to 
Congress’ power to enforce the 5th and 14th 
amendments. 
(5) The Department of Labor and the Equal 
Employment Opportunity Commission have impor-
tant and unique responsibilities to help ensure that 
women receive equal pay for equal work. 
(6) The Department of Labor is responsible 
for— 
(A) collecting and making publicly avail-
able information about women’s pay; 
(B) ensuring that companies receiving 
Federal contracts comply with anti-discrimina-
tion affirmative action requirements of Execu-
tive Order 11246 (relating to equal employment 
opportunity); 
(C) disseminating information about wom-
en’s rights in the workplace; 
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(D) helping women who have been victims 
of pay discrimination obtain a remedy; and 
(E) being proactive in investigating and 
prosecuting equal pay violations, especially sys-
temic violations, and in enforcing all of its man-
dates. 
(7) The Equal Employment Opportunity Com-
mission is the primary enforcement agency for 
claims made under the Equal Pay Act, and issues 
regulations and guidance on appropriate interpreta-
tions of the law. 
(8) With a stronger commitment by the Depart-
ment of Labor and the Equal Employment Oppor-
tunity Commission to their responsibilities, increased 
information as a result of the amendments made by 
this Act to the Equal Pay Act of 1963, wage data, 
and more effective remedies, women will be better 
able to recognize and enforce their rights. 
(9) Certain employers have already made great 
strides in eradicating unfair pay disparities in the 
workplace and their achievements should be recog-
nized. 
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SEC. 3. ENHANCED ENFORCEMENT OF EQUAL PAY RE-
QUIREMENTS. 
(a) BONA-FIDE FACTOR DEFENSE AND MODIFICA-
TION OF SAME ESTABLISHMENT REQUIREMENT.—Section 
6(d)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 
U.S.C. 206(d)(1)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘No employer having’’ and in-
serting ‘‘(A) No employer having’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘any other factor other than 
sex’’ and inserting ‘‘a bona fide factor other than 
sex, such as education, training, or experience’’; and 
(3) by inserting at the end the following: 
‘‘(B) The bona fide factor defense described in sub-
paragraph (A)(iv) shall apply only if the employer dem-
onstrates that such factor (i) is not based upon or derived 
from a sex-based differential in compensation; (ii) is job- 
related with respect to the position in question; and (iii) 
is consistent with business necessity. Such defense shall 
not apply where the employee demonstrates that an alter-
native employment practice exists that would serve the 
same business purpose without producing such differential 
and that the employer has refused to adopt such alter-
native practice. 
‘‘(C) For purposes of subparagraph (A), employees 
shall be deemed to work in the same establishment if the 
employees work for the same employer at workplaces lo-
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cated in the same county or similar political subdivision 
of a State. The preceding sentence shall not be construed 
as limiting broader applications of the term ‘establish-
ment’ consistent with rules prescribed or guidance issued 
by the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission.’’. 
(b) NONRETALIATION PROVISION.—Section 15 of the 
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 215(a)(3)) 
is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ‘‘employee 
has filed’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘em-
ployee— 
‘‘(A) has made a charge or filed any com-
plaint or instituted or caused to be instituted 
any investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action 
under or related to this Act, including an inves-
tigation conducted by the employer, or has tes-
tified or is planning to testify or has assisted or 
participated in any manner in any such inves-
tigation, proceeding, hearing or action, or has 
served or is planning to serve on an industry 
Committee; or 
‘‘(B) has inquired about, discussed or dis-
closed the wages of the employee or another 
employee.’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(c) Subsection (a)(3)(B) shall not apply to instances 
in which an employee who has access to the wage informa-
tion of other employees as a part of such employee’s essen-
tial job functions discloses the wages of such other employ-
ees to individuals who do not otherwise have access to such 
information, unless such disclosure is in response to a 
complaint or charge or in furtherance of an investigation, 
proceeding, hearing, or action under section 6(d), includ-
ing an investigation conducted by the employer. Nothing 
in this subsection shall be construed to limit the rights 
of an employee provided under any other provision of 
law.’’. 
(c) ENHANCED PENALTIES.—Section 16(b) of the 
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(b)) is 
amended— 
(1) by inserting after the first sentence the fol-
lowing: ‘‘Any employer who violates section 6(d) 
shall additionally be liable for such compensatory 
damages, or, where the employee demonstrates that 
the employer acted with malice or reckless indiffer-
ence, punitive damages as may be appropriate, ex-
cept that the United States shall not be liable for 
punitive damages.’’; 
(2) in the sentence beginning ‘‘An action to’’, 
by striking ‘‘either of the preceding sentences’’ and 
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