I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2019 
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to prohibit discrimination 
in the payment of wages on account of sex, race, or national origin, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 24, 2007 
Ms. NORTON 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 prohibit 
discrimination in the payment of wages on account of 
sex, race, or national origin, 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 ‘‘Fair Pay Act of 2007’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Wage rate differentials exist between equiv-
alent jobs segregated by sex, race, and national ori-
gin in Government employment and in industries en-
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gaged in commerce or in the production of goods for 
commerce. 
(2) The existence of such wage rate differen-
tials— 
(A) depresses wages and living standards 
for employees necessary for their health and ef-
ficiency; 
(B) prevents the maximum utilization of 
the available labor resources; 
(C) tends to cause labor disputes, thereby 
burdening, affecting, and obstructing com-
merce; 
(D) burdens commerce and the free flow of 
goods in commerce; and 
(E) constitutes an unfair method of com-
petition. 
(3) Discrimination in hiring and promotion has 
played a role in maintaining a segregated work 
force. 
(4) Many women and people of color work in 
occupations dominated by individuals of their same 
sex, race, and national origin. 
(5) A 2000 study conducted by the Census Bu-
reau of 400 fields that employed 10,000 full-time, 
year-round workers found that women were able to 
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earn at least as much as men in just 5 fields: haz-
ardous material removal, telecommunications line in-
stallation and repair, meeting and convention plan-
ning, food preparation, and construction trade as-
sistant work. 
(6) In 2004, an Institute for Women’s Policy 
Research analysis of data collected in the Current 
Population Survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics 
found that women were paid only 76 cents for every 
dollar that a man is paid. 
(7) Section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Standards 
Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(d)) prohibits discrimi-
nation in compensation for ‘‘equal work’’ on the 
basis of sex. 
(8) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 
(42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) prohibits discrimination in 
compensation because of race, color, religion, na-
tional origin, and sex. In 1981, the Supreme Court, 
in its decision in County of Washington v. Gunther, 
held that title VII’s prohibition against discrimina-
tion in compensation also applies to jobs that do not 
constitute ‘‘equal work’’ as defined in section 6(d) of 
the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
206(d)). Decisions of lower courts, however, have 
demonstrated that further clarification of existing 
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legislation is necessary in order effectively to carry 
out the intent of Congress to implement the Su-
preme Court’s holding in its Gunther decision. 
(9) Artificial barriers to the elimination of dis-
crimination in compensation based upon sex, race, 
and national origin continue to exist more than 3 
decades after the passage of section 6(d) of the Fair 
Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(d)) 
and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Elimination of 
such barriers would have positive effects, includ-
ing— 
(A) providing a solution to problems in the 
economy created by discrimination through 
wage rate differentials; 
(B) substantially reducing the number of 
working women and people of color earning low 
wages, thereby reducing the dependence on pub-
lic assistance; and 
(C) promoting stable families by enabling 
working family members to earn a fair rate of 
pay. 
SEC. 3. EQUAL PAY FOR EQUIVALENT JOBS. 
(a) AMENDMENT.—Section 6 of the Fair Labor 
Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(h)(1)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
no employer having employees subject to any provision of 
this section shall discriminate, within any establishment 
in which such employees are employed, between employees 
on the basis of sex, race, or national origin by paying 
wages to employees in such establishment in a job that 
is dominated by employees of a particular sex, race, or 
national origin at a rate less than the rate at which the 
employer pays wages to employees in such establishment 
in another job that is dominated by employees of the oppo-
site sex or of a different race or national origin, respec-
tively, for work on equivalent jobs. 
‘‘(B) Nothing in subparagraph (A) shall prohibit the 
payment of different wage rates to employees where such 
payment is made pursuant to— 
‘‘(i) a seniority system; 
‘‘(ii) a merit system; 
‘‘(iii) a system that measures earnings by quan-
tity or quality of production; or 
‘‘(iv) a differential based on a bona fide factor 
other than sex, race, or national origin, such as edu-
cation, training, or experience, except that this 
clause shall apply only if— 
‘‘(I) the employer demonstrates that— 
‘‘(aa) such factor— 
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‘‘(AA) is job-related with respect 
to the position in question; or 
‘‘(BB) furthers a legitimate busi-
ness purpose, except that this item 
shall not apply if the employee dem-
onstrates that an alternative employ-
ment practice exists that would serve 
the same business purpose without 
producing such differential and that 
the employer has refused to adopt 
such alternative practice; and 
‘‘(bb) such factor was actually applied 
and used reasonably in light of the as-
serted justification; and 
‘‘(II) upon the employer succeeding under 
subclause (I), the employee fails to demonstrate 
that the differential produced by the reliance of 
the employer on such factor is itself the result 
of discrimination on the basis of sex, race, or 
national origin by the employer. 
‘‘(C) The Equal Employment Opportunity Commis-
sion shall issue guidelines specifying criteria for deter-
mining whether a job is dominated by employees of a par-
ticular sex, race, or national origin. Such guidelines shall 
not include a list of such jobs. 
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‘‘(D) An employer who is paying a wage rate differen-
tial in violation of subparagraph (A) shall not, in order 
to comply with the provisions of such subparagraph, re-
duce the wage rate of any employee. 
‘‘(2) No labor organization or its agents representing 
employees of an employer having employees subject to any 
provision of this section shall cause or attempt to cause 
such an employer to discriminate against an employee in 
violation of paragraph (1)(A). 
‘‘(3) For purposes of administration and enforcement 
of this subsection, any amounts owing to any employee 
that have been withheld in violation of paragraph (1)(A) 
shall be deemed to be unpaid minimum wages or unpaid 
overtime compensation under this section or section 7. 
‘‘(4) In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) The term ‘labor organization’ means any 
organization of any kind, or any agency or employee 
representation committee or plan, in which employ-
ees participate and that exists for the purpose, in 
whole or in part, of dealing with employers con-
cerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of 
pay, hours of employment, or conditions of work. 
‘‘(B) The term ‘equivalent jobs’ means jobs that 
may be dissimilar, but whose requirements are 
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equivalent, when viewed as a composite of skills, ef-
fort, responsibility, and working conditions.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 13(a) of 
the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 213(a)) 
is amended in the matter before paragraph (1) by striking 
‘‘section 6(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘sections 6(d) and 6(h)’’. 
SEC. 4. PROHIBITED ACTS. 
Section 15(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 
1938 (29 U.S.C. 215(a)) is amended— 
(1) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (5) and inserting a semicolon; and 
(2) by adding after paragraph (5) the following 
new paragraphs: 
‘‘(6) to discriminate against any individual be-
cause such individual has opposed any act or prac-
tice made unlawful by section 6(h) or because such 
individual made a charge, testified, assisted, or par-
ticipated in any manner in an investigation, pro-
ceeding, or hearing to enforce section 6(h); or 
‘‘(7) to discharge or in any other manner dis-
criminate against, coerce, intimidate, threaten, or 
interfere with any employee or any other person be-
cause the employee inquired about, disclosed, com-
pared, or otherwise discussed the employee’s wages 
or the wages of any other employee, or because the 
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employee exercised, enjoyed, aided, or encouraged 
any other person to exercise or enjoy any right 
granted or protected by section 6(h).’’. 
SEC. 5. REMEDIES. 
(a) 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 subsection (d) or 
(h) of section 6 shall additionally be liable for such 
compensatory or punitive damages as may be appro-
priate, except that the United States shall not be lia-
ble for punitive damages.’’; 
(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’’, 
by striking ‘‘No employees’’ and inserting ‘‘Except 
with respect to class actions brought under sub-
section (f), no employee’’; 
(4) in the sentence beginning ‘‘The court in’’, 
by striking ‘‘in such action’’ and inserting ‘‘in any 
action brought to recover the liability prescribed in 
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any of the preceding sentences of this subsection’’; 
and 
(5) by striking ‘‘section 15(a)(3)’’ each place it 
occurs and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (3), (6), and (7) 
of section 15(a)’’. 
(b) ACTION BY SECRETARY.—Section 16(c) of the 
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(c)) is 
amended— 
(1) in the first sentence— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘or, in the case of a viola-
tion of subsection (d) or (h) of section 6, addi-
tional compensatory or punitive damages,’’ be-
fore ‘‘and the agreement’’; and 
(B) by inserting before the period the fol-
lowing: ‘‘, or such compensatory or punitive 
damages, as appropriate’’; 
(2) in the second sentence, by inserting before 
the period the following: ‘‘and, in the case of a viola-
tion of subsection (d) or (h) of section 6, additional 
compensatory or punitive damages’’; and 
(3) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘the first 
sentence’’ and inserting ‘‘the first or second sen-
tence’’. 
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(c) FEES.—Section 16 of the Fair Labor Standards 
Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘(f) In any action brought under this section for vio-
lation of section 6(h), the court shall, in addition to any 
other remedies awarded to the prevailing plaintiff or plain-
tiffs, allow expert fees as part of the costs. Any such action 
may be maintained as a class action as provided by the 
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.’’. 
SEC. 6. RECORDS. 
(a) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 11(c) of the 
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 211(c)) is 
amended by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(c)’’. 
(b) RECORDS.—Section 11(c) of the Fair Labor 
Standards Act of 1938 (as amended by subsection (a)) 
is further amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2)(A) Every employer subject to section 6(h) shall 
preserve records that document and support the method, 
system, calculations, and other bases used by the employer 
in establishing, adjusting, and determining the wage rates 
paid to the employees of the employer. Every employer 
subject to section 6(h) shall preserve such records for such 
periods of time, and shall make such reports from the 
records to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commis-
sion, as shall be prescribed by the Equal Employment Op-
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portunity Commission by regulation or order as necessary 
or appropriate for the enforcement of the provisions of sec-
tion 6(h) or any regulation promulgated pursuant to sec-
tion 6(h).’’. 
(c) SMALL BUSINESS EXEMPTIONS.—Section 11(c) 
of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (as amended 
by subsections (a) and (b)) is further amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(B)(i) Every employer subject to section 6(h) that 
has 25 or more employees on any date during the first 
or second year after the effective date of this paragraph, 
or 15 or more employees on any date during any subse-
quent year after such second year, shall, in accordance 
with regulations promulgated by the Equal Employment 
Opportunity Commission under subparagraph (F), pre-
pare and submit to the Equal Employment Opportunity 
Commission for the year involved a report signed by the 
president, treasurer, or corresponding principal officer, of 
the employer that includes information that discloses the 
wage rates paid to employees of the employer in each clas-
sification, position, or job title, or to employees in other 
wage groups employed by the employer, including informa-
tion with respect to the sex, race, and national origin of 
employees at each wage rate in each classification, posi-
tion, job title, or other wage group.’’. 
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