I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 17 
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 
MARCH 10, 2023 
Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Mr. JEFFRIES, Mr. AGUILAR, Ms. CLARK of Mas-
sachusetts, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. HOYER, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. SCOTT of Vir-
ginia, Ms. SPANBERGER, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. SALINAS, Ms. CRAIG, Ms. 
KUSTER, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. 
BALINT, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. PETTERSEN, Ms. 
PINGREE, Ms. HOULAHAN, Ms. BUSH, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. WASSERMAN 
SCHULTZ, Ms. ROSS, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. TITUS, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. NOR-
TON, Ms. SLOTKIN, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. MENG, Mrs. NAPOLI-
TANO, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. STEVENS, Ms. SCHOLTEN, Ms. 
OMAR, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. CROCKETT, Ms. WEXTON, 
Ms. TOKUDA, Mrs. BEATTY, Ms. CHU, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. CASTOR of 
Florida, Ms. MANNING, Ms. PORTER, Ms. SCHRIER, Ms. UNDERWOOD, 
Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mrs. FLETCHER, Ms. LOIS 
FRANKEL of Florida, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mrs. MCBATH, Ms. DEAN of Penn-
sylvania, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. PEREZ, Ms. STRICKLAND, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. 
WATERS, Ms. STANSBURY, Ms. SHERRILL, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Ms. WIL-
LIAMS of Georgia, Ms. BUDZINSKI, Mrs. TORRES of California, Ms. 
VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Ms. JA-
COBS, Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Ms. JACK-
SON LEE, Ms. BROWN, Ms. PLASKETT, Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania, Ms. 
WILD, Mrs. LEE of Nevada, Ms. DELBENE, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. 
KAMLAGER-DOVE, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ, Ms. 
SEWELL, Ms. HOYLE of Oregon, Mrs. FOUSHEE, Ms. ESCOBAR, Ms. 
CARAVEO, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. 
SMITH of Washington, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. BERA, 
Mr. CARSON, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. 
FOSTER, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. BOYLE of 
Pennsylvania, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. 
DELUZIO, Mr. ALLRED, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. SOTO, 
Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. TRONE, Mr. PHIL-
LIPS, Mr. KILMER, Mr. DAVIS of North Carolina, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. NOR-
CROSS, Mr. BEYER, Mr. EVANS, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:16 Mar 11, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6652
E:\BILLS\H17.IH
H17
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
SORENSEN, Mr. SWALWELL, Mr. MRVAN, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. CONNOLLY, 
Mr. IVEY, Mr. CASAR, Mr. STANTON, Mr. SABLAN, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. 
JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Mr. BOWMAN, 
Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. GOLDEN of Maine, Mr. HUFFMAN, 
Mr. MOSKOWITZ, Mr. CROW, Mr. NADLER, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. 
COSTA, Mr. HIMES, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, 
Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. LARSON
of Connecticut, Mr. 
GARAMENDI, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. MORELLE, 
Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mr. HARDER of California, Mr. VARGAS, Mrs. SYKES, 
Mr. MULLIN, Mr. MFUME, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. 
DESAULNIER, Mr. POCAN, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. FROST, 
Mr. LEVIN, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. MCGARVEY, 
Mr. RYAN, Mr. TONKO, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. RUIZ, 
Mr. NEAL, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mr. 
KHANNA, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. ROBERT GARCIA of California, Mr. 
GALLEGO, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. PETERS, Mr. 
CASTEN, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. COHEN, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. 
LIEU, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Mr. VICENTE GON-
ZALEZ of Texas, Mr. NICKEL, Mr. KEATING, Mr. THANEDAR, Mr. 
FITZPATRICK, Mrs. MCCLELLAN, and Mr. CORREA) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Account-
ability, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
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’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:16 Mar 11, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H17.IH
H17
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
SEC. 2. ENHANCED ENFORCEMENT OF EQUAL PAY RE-
QUIREMENTS. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3 of the Fair Labor 
Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(z) ‘Sex’ includes— 
‘‘(1) pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical 
condition; 
‘‘(2) sexual orientation or gender identity; and 
‘‘(3) sex characteristics, including intersex 
traits. 
‘‘(aa) ‘Sexual orientation’ includes homosexuality, 
heterosexuality, and bisexuality. 
‘‘(bb) ‘Gender identity’ means the gender-related 
identity, appearance, mannerisms, or other gender-related 
characteristics of an individual, regardless of the individ-
ual’s designated sex at birth.’’. 
(b) 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 ‘‘the opposite’’ and inserting 
‘‘another’’; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:16 Mar 11, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H17.IH
H17
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
(3) by striking ‘‘any other factor other than 
sex’’ and inserting ‘‘a bona fide factor other than 
sex, such as education, training, or experience’’; and 
(4) by inserting at the end the following: 
‘‘(B) The bona fide factor defense described in sub-
paragraph (A)(iv) shall apply only if the employer dem-
onstrates that such factor (i) is not based upon or derived 
from a sex-based differential in compensation; (ii) is job- 
related with respect to the position in question; (iii) is con-
sistent with business necessity; and (iv) accounts for the 
entire differential in compensation at issue. Such defense 
shall not apply where the employee demonstrates that an 
alternative employment practice exists that would serve 
the same business purpose without producing such dif-
ferential and that the employer has refused to adopt such 
alternative practice. 
‘‘(C) For purposes of subparagraph (A), employees 
shall be deemed to work in the same establishment if the 
employees work for the same employer at workplaces lo-
cated in the same county or similar political subdivision 
of a State. The preceding sentence shall not be construed 
as limiting broader applications of the term ‘establish-
ment’ consistent with rules prescribed or guidance issued 
by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:16 Mar 11, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H17.IH
H17
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
(c) NONRETALIATION PROVISION.—Section 15 of the 
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 215) is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘em-
ployee has filed’’ and all that follows and insert-
ing ‘‘employee— 
‘‘(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; 
‘‘(B) has opposed any practice made un-
lawful by this Act; or 
‘‘(C) has inquired about, discussed, or dis-
closed the wages of the employee or another 
employee (such as by inquiring or discussing 
with the employer why the wages of the em-
ployee are set at a certain rate or salary);’’; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:16 Mar 11, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H17.IH
H17
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB