I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2023
To amend the Equal Pay Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938,
and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 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
JUNE 24, 1997
Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Ms. NORTON, and Mr. GEPHARDT) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the
Workforce
A BILL
To amend the Equal Pay Act, the Fair Labor Standards
Act of 1938, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 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.
(2) Even in the 1990s, women earn signifi-
cantly lower pay than men for work on jobs that re-
quire equal skill, effort, and responsibility and that
are performed under similar working conditions.
(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) prevents the optimum utilization of
available labor resources;
(C) has been spread and perpetuated,
through commerce and the channels and instru-
mentalities of commerce, among the workers of
the several States;
(D) burdens commerce and the free flow of
goods in commerce;
(E) constitutes an unfair method of com-
petition in commerce;
(F) leads to labor disputes burdening and
obstructing commerce and the free flow of
goods in commerce; and
(G) interferes with the orderly and fair
marketing of goods in commerce.
(4)(A) Artificial barriers to the elimination of
discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis
of sex continue to exist more than 3 decades after
the enactment of the Fair Labor Standards Act of
1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) and the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a et seq.).
(B) Elimination of such barriers would have
positive effects, including—
(i) providing a solution to problems in the
economy created by unfair pay disparities;
(ii) substantially reducing the number of
working women earning unfairly low wages,
thereby reducing the dependence on public as-
sistance; and
(iii) promoting stable families by enabling
all family members to earn a fair rate of pay.
(5) Only with increased information about the
provisions added by the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and
generalized wage data, along with more effective
remedies, will women recognize and enforce their
rights to equal pay for work on jobs that require
equal skill, effort, and responsibility and that are
performed under similar working conditions.
(6) Certain employers have already made great
strides in eradicating unfair pay disparities in the
workplace and their achievements should be recog-
nized.
SEC. 3. ENHANCED ENFORCEMENT OF EQUAL PAY RE-
QUIREMENTS.
(a) NONRETALIATION PROVISION.—Section 15(a)(3)
of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C.
215(a)(3)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘or has’’ each place it appears
and inserting ‘‘has’’; and
(2) by inserting before the semicolon the follow-
ing: ‘‘, or has inquired about, discussed, or otherwise
disclosed the wages of the employee or another em-
ployee’’.
(b) ENHANCED PENALTIES.—Section 16(b) of such
Act (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 or
punitive damages as may be appropriate.’’;
(2) in the sentence beginning ‘‘An action to’’,
by striking ‘‘either of the preceding sentences’’ and
inserting ‘‘any of the preceding sentences of this
subsection’’;
(3) in the sentence beginning ‘‘No employees
shall’’, by striking ‘‘No employees’’ and inserting
(2) in the second sentence, by inserting before
the period the following: ‘‘and, in the case of a viola-
tion of section 6(d), additional compensatory or pu-
nitive damages’’;
(3) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘the first
sentence’’ and inserting ‘‘the first or second sen-
tence’’; and
(4) in the last sentence, by inserting after ‘‘in
the complaint’’ the following: ‘‘or becomes a party
plaintiff in a class action brought to enforce section
6(d)’’.
SEC. 4. COLLECTION OF PAY INFORMATION BY THE EQUAL
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION.
Section 705 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42
U.S.C. 2000e–4) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection:
‘‘(l)(1) The Commission shall, by regulation, require
each employer who has 100 or more employees for each
working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the
current or preceding calendar year to maintain payroll
records and to prepare and submit to the Commission re-
ports containing information from the records. The re-
ports shall contain pay information, analyzed by the race,
sex, and national origin of the employees. The reports
shall not disclose the pay information of an employee in
a manner that permits the identification of the employee.
‘‘(2) The third through fifth sentences of section
709(c) shall apply to employers, regulations, and records
described in paragraph (1) in the same manner and to
the same extent as the sentences apply to employers, regu-
lations, and records described in such section.’’.
SEC. 5. TRAINING.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs,
subject to the availability of funds appropriated under sec-
tion 8(b), shall provide training to Commission employees
and affected individuals and entities on matters involving
discrimination in the payment of wages.
SEC. 6. RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND OUTREACH.
The Secretary of Labor shall conduct studies and
provide information to employers, labor organizations, and
the general public concerning the means available to elimi-
nate pay disparities between men and women, including—
(1) conducting and promoting research to de-
velop the means to correct expeditiously the condi-
tions leading to the pay disparities;
(2) publishing and otherwise making available
to employers, labor organizations, professional asso-
ciations, educational institutions, the media, and the
general public the findings resulting from studies
and other materials, relating to eliminating the pay
disparities;
(3) sponsoring and assisting State and commu-
nity informational and educational programs;
(4) providing information to employers, labor
organizations, professional associations, and other
interested persons on the means of eliminating the
pay disparities;
(5) recognizing and promoting the achievements
of employers, labor organizations, and professional
associations that have worked to eliminate the pay
disparities;
(6) convening a national summit to discuss, and
consider approaches for rectifying, the pay dispari-
ties; and
(7) issuing to employers voluntary pay guide-
lines for the relative pay ranges of a selection of
male- and female-dominated widely held occupations.
SEC. 7. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL AWARD FOR
PAY EQUITY IN THE WORKPLACE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established the Robert
Reich National Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace,
which shall be evidenced by a medal bearing the inscrip-
tion ‘‘Robert Reich National Award for Pay Equity in the
Workplace’’. The medal shall be of such design and mate-
rials, and bear such additional inscriptions, as the Sec-
retary may prescribe.
(b) CRITERIA FOR QUALIFICATION.—To qualify to
receive an award under this section a business shall—
(1) submit a written application to the Sec-
retary, at such time, in such manner, and containing
such information as the Secretary may require, in-
cluding at a minimum information that dem-
onstrates that the business has made substantial ef-
fort to eliminate pay disparities between men and
women, and deserves special recognition as a con-
sequence; and
(2) meet such additional requirements and
specifications as the Secretary determines to be ap-
propriate.
(c) MAKING AND PRESENTATION OF AWARD.—
(1) AWARD.—After receiving recommendations
from the Secretary, the President or the designated
representative of the President shall annually
present the award described in subsection (a) to
businesses that meet the qualifications described in
subsection (b).
(2) PRESENTATION.—The President or the des-
ignated representative of the President shall present
the award with such ceremonies as the President or
the designated representative of the President may
determine to be appropriate.
(3) PUBLICITY.—A business that receives an
award under this section may publicize the receipt of
the award and use the award in its advertising, if
the business agrees to help other United States busi-
nesses improve with respect to the elimination of pay
disparities between men and women.
(d) BUSINESS.—For the purposes of this section, the
term ‘‘business’’ includes—
(1)(A) a corporation, including a nonprofit cor-
poration;
(B) a partnership;
(C) a professional association;
(D) a labor organization; and
(E) a business entity similar to an entity de-
scribed in any of subparagraphs (A) through (D);
(2) an entity carrying out an education referral
program, a training program, such as an apprentice-
ship or management training program, or a similar
program; and
(3) an entity carrying out a joint program,
formed by a combination of any entities described in
paragraph (1) or (2).
SEC. 8. INCREASED RESOURCES FOR ENFORCEMENT AND
EDUCATION.
(a) GENERAL RESOURCES.—
(1) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COM-
MISSION.—There is authorized to be appropriated to
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, for
necessary expenses of the Commission in carrying
out title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42
U.S.C. 2000e et seq.), title I of the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12111 et seq.),
the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
(29 U.S.C. 621 et seq.), and section 6(d) of the Fair
Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(d)),
$36,000,000, in addition to sums otherwise appro-
priated for such expenses. Any amounts so appro-
priated shall remain available until expended.
(2) OFFICE OF FEDERAL CONTRACT COMPLI-
ANCE PROGRAMS.—There is authorized to be appro-
priated to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance
Programs for necessary expenses of the Office
$10,000,000 in addition to sums otherwise appro-
priated for such expenses. Any amounts so appro-
priated shall remain available until expended.
(b) TARGETED RESOURCES.—
(1) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COM-
MISSION.—There is authorized to be appropriated to