Title: End Pay Discrimination Through Information Act
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
End Pay Discrimination Through Information Act
This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to prohibit an employer from discriminating against an employee who inquires about, discusses, or discloses the wages of the employee or another employee. This protection does not apply to an employee who has access to wage information as part of the employee's essential job functions, unless the disclosure is in response to a sex discrimination complaint or charge, or in furtherance of a sex discrimination investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 44 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 44

        To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to improve 
     nonretaliation provisions relating to equal pay requirements.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 5, 2017

  Mr. Heller introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
        To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to improve 
     nonretaliation provisions relating to equal pay requirements.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``End Pay Discrimination Through 
Information Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) People in the United States understand that intentional 
        workplace discrimination is wrong.
            (2) Equal pay for equal work is a principle and practice 
        that should be observed by all employers.
            (3) Women constitute a significant portion of the workforce 
        of the United States.
            (4) An increasing number of families in the United States 
        depend on the income of a working woman.
            (5) Many women are pursuing or have attained postsecondary 
        degrees or specialized training to make them strong candidates 
        for good jobs that will provide for their families.
            (6) Employers that intentionally discriminate on the basis 
        of sex should be held accountable for their wrongdoing.

SEC. 3. ENHANCED ENFORCEMENT OF EQUAL PAY REQUIREMENTS.

    Section 15 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 215) 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ``employee has 
        filed'' and all that follows through ``committee;'' and 
        inserting ``employee--
                    ``(A) has made a charge or filed any complaint or 
                instituted or caused to be instituted any 
                investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action under or 
                related to this Act, including an investigation 
                conducted by the employer, or has testified or is 
                planning to testify or has assisted or participated in 
                any manner in any such investigation, proceeding, 
                hearing, or action, or has served or is planning to 
                serve on an industry committee; or
                    ``(B) has inquired about, discussed, or disclosed 
                the wages of the employee or another employee;''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Subsection (a)(3)(B) shall not apply to instances in which an 
employee who has access to the wage information of other employees as a 
part of such employee's essential job functions discloses the wages of 
such other employees to an individual who does not otherwise have 
access to such information, unless such disclosure is in response to a 
charge or complaint or in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, 
hearing, or action under section 6(d), including 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.''.
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