Title: Wage Equity Act of 2019
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
Wage Equity Act of 2019
This bill addresses pay discrimination in the workplace between men and women.
Specifically, the bill


[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1935 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1935

  To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to enhance provisions 
         related to pay discrimination, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 27, 2019

Ms. Stefanik (for herself, Mr. Hurd of Texas, Mr. Conaway, Mr. Stivers, 
Ms. Granger, Mr. Upton, Mrs. Brooks of Indiana, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Diaz-
Balart, Mr. Gianforte, Mr. Huizenga, Mr. Katko, Mr. Cole, Mrs. Rodgers 
of Washington, Mr. Turner, Mr. Bucshon, Mr. McHenry, Mrs. Walorski, Mr. 
 Hagedorn, Mr. Walden, Mr. Smucker, Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
Steil, Mr. Flores, Mr. Fortenberry, Mr. Reed, Mr. Wright, Mr. Cook, Mr. 
Hudson, Mr. Gonzalez of Ohio, Mrs. Wagner, Mr. Burgess, Mr. King of New 
 York, Mr. Collins of New York, Mr. Stauber, Ms. Herrera Beutler, Mr. 
Balderson, Mr. McKinley, Mr. Zeldin, Mr. Bost, Mr. Ferguson, Mr. Joyce 
 of Ohio, Mr. Timmons, Mr. David P. Roe of Tennessee, Mr. Chabot, Mr. 
    Latta, Mr. Byrne, Mr. Kinzinger, and Mr. LaHood) 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 enhance provisions 
         related to pay discrimination, and for other purposes.

    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 referred to as the ``Wage Equity Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

            (1) In 1963, Congress passed on a bipartisan basis the 
        Equal Pay Act of 1963 to prohibit discrimination on account of 
        sex in the payment of wages for equal work performed by 
        employees for employers engaged in commerce or in the 
        production of goods for commerce.
            (2) Following the passage of such Act, in 1964, Congress 
        passed on a bipartisan basis the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 
        Since the passage of both the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the 
        Civil Rights Act of 1964, women have made significant strides, 
        both in the workforce and in their educational pursuits.
            (3) Currently, there are nearly 75,000,000 women in the 
        workforce, the most in American history. Of the 2,800,000 jobs 
        created in 2018, 58 percent went to women. This follows a trend 
        that has been rising for some time. Women are graduating from 
        college at a higher rate than their male counter parts, making 
        up over 58 percent of all college degrees conferred in 2017. 
        Additionally, according to a recent survey of working women, 49 
        percent of employed women are their family's primary 
        breadwinner. Women hold the majority of positions in the five 
        fastest growing fields.
            (4) Despite these advances there is still concern among the 
        American public that gender-based pay discrimination has not 
        been eliminated.

SEC. 3. FLEXIBLE WORK ARRANGEMENT PLAN.

    Section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
206(d)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``or'' after ``a system which 
                measures earnings by quantity or quality or 
                production'';
                    (B) inserting ``; or (v) a flexible work 
                arrangement plan'' after ``any other factor other than 
                sex''; and
                    (C) by inserting ``job-related'' before ``factor 
                other than sex''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) In this subsection, the term `flexible work 
        arrangement plan' means a plan offered by an employer that an 
        employee may opt into in which the employee agrees to certain 
        scheduling benefits, including--
                    ``(A) flexible scheduling.
                    ``(B) a telework program; or
                    ``(C) a compressed work schedule program that 
                allows the employee to work the equivalent of full-time 
                employment over a fewer number of days by increasing 
                the number of daily hours worked.''.

SEC. 4. PAY ANALYSIS.

    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)(1) If an employer conducts a pay analysis audit and such 
audit reveals unlawful differentials in pay between equal jobs and such 
employer takes reasonable steps to address such differentials 
consistent with federal laws prohibiting pay discrimination, such 
employer shall not be liable for liquidated damages in an action 
brought against the employer for a violation of section 6(d) if such 
audit is conducted--
                    ``(A) in good faith to investigate such 
                differentials; and
                    ``(B) not earlier than the date that is 3 years 
                before the date on which the action is brought and not 
                later than the date that is 1 day before the action is 
                brought.
            ``(2) An audit under this section and remedial action taken 
        in response to the findings of such audit may not be 
        discoverable or admissible for any purpose in any claim against 
        the employer.
            ``(3) An employer who has not completed an audit under this 
        subsection shall not be subject to a negative or adverse 
        inference as a result of not having completed such audit.''.

SEC. 5. WAGE, SALARY, AND BENEFIT HISTORY; DISCUSSION OF WAGES.

    (a) In General.--The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
201 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 7 the following new 
section:

``SEC. 8. PROVISIONS RELATING TO WAGE, SALARY, AND BENEFIT HISTORY AND 
              DISCUSSION OF WAGES.

    ``(a) Requirements and Prohibitions Relating to Wage, Salary, and 
Benefit History.--It shall be an unlawful practice for an employer to--
            ``(1) rely on the wage history of a prospective employee in 
        considering the prospective employee for employment, including 
        requiring that a prospective employee's prior wages satisfy 
        minimum or maximum criteria as a condition of being considered 
        for employment, except that an employer may rely on wage 
        history if it is voluntarily provided by a prospective 
        employee;
            ``(2) rely on the wage history of a prospective employee in 
        determining the wages for such prospective employee, except 
        that an employer may rely on wage history if it is voluntarily 
        provided by a prospective employee;
            ``(3) require a prospective employee to disclose the wage 
        history of such prospective employee; or
            ``(4) discharge or in any other manner retaliate against 
        any employee or prospective employee because the employee or 
        prospective employee--
                    ``(A) opposed any act or practice made unlawful by 
                this section; or
                    ``(B) took an action for which discrimination is 
                forbidden under section 15(a)(3).
    ``(b) Prohibitions Relating to Discussion of Wages.--Subject to 
subsection (c), it shall be an unlawful practice for an employer to--
            ``(1) prohibit an employee from inquiring about, 
        discussing, or disclosing the wages of the employee or another 
        employee, if such employee has voluntarily disclosed the wages 
        of such employee;
            ``(2) prohibit an employee from requesting from the 
        employer an explanation of differentials in compensation among 
        employees; or
            ``(3) take an adverse employment action against an employee 
        for--
                    ``(A) conduct described under paragraphs (1) or 
                (2); or
                    ``(B) encouraging employees to engage in conduct 
                described in such paragraphs.
    ``(c) Limitations Relating to Discussion of Wages.--(1) An employer 
may impose reasonable time, place, and manner limitations on conduct 
described under subsection (b) if such limitations are written and 
available to each employee.
    ``(2) Such limitations may include a prohibition on the discussion 
by an employee of the wages of another employee if such employee did 
not voluntarily disclose the wages of such employee.
    ``(d) Salary Expectation Conversation.--Nothing in this section 
shall be construed to prevent an employer from--
            ``(1) inquiring about the salary expectations of a 
        prospective employee; or
            ``(2) providing information to such employee about the 
        compensation and benefits offered in relation to the position.
    ``(e) Definition.--In this section, the term `wage history' means 
the wages paid to the prospective employee by the prospective 
employee's current employer or previous employer.''.
    (b) Penalty.--Section 16 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 216) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(f) Any person who violates the provisions of section 8 shall be 
liable to each employee for an amount equal to the sum of--
            ``(1) $2,000 for a first offense, increased by an 
        additional $500 for each subsequent offense, not to exceed 
        $5,000; and
            ``(2) with respect to an employee of the employer, the 
        amount that the employee would have received but for such 
        violation and the amount actually received by such employee.''.

SEC. 6. NEGOTIATION SKILLS TRAINING.

    (a) Program Authorized.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Labor, after consultation 
        with the Secretary of Education, is authorized to establish and 
        carry out a grant program.
            (2) Grants.--In carrying out the program, the Secretary of 
        Labor may make grants on a competitive basis to eligible 
        entities to carry out negotiation skills training programs for 
        the purposes of addressing pay disparities, including through 
        outreach to women and girls.
            (3) Eligible entities.--To be eligible to receive a grant 
        under this subsection, an entity shall be a public agency, such 
        as a State, a local government in a metropolitan statistical 
        area (as defined by the Office of Management and Budget), a 
        State educational agency, or a local educational agency, a 
        private nonprofit organization, or a community-based 
        organization.
            (4) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
        this subsection, an entity shall submit an application to the 
        Secretary of Labor at such time, in such manner, and containing 
        such information as the Secretary of Labor may require.
            (5) Use of funds.--An entity that receives a grant under 
        this subsection shall use the funds made available through the 
        grant to carry out an effective negotiation skills training 
        program for the purposes described in paragraph (2).
    (b) Incorporating Training Into Existing Programs.--The Secretary 
of Labor and the Secretary of Education shall issue regulations or 
policy guidance that provides for integrating the negotiation skills 
training, to the extent practicable, into programs authorized under--
            (1) in the case of the Secretary of Education, the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 
        et seq.), the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education 
        Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.), the Higher Education Act 
        of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), and other programs carried 
        out by the Department of Education that the Secretary of 
        Education determines to be appropriate; and
            (2) in the case of the Secretary of Labor, the Workforce 
        Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.), and 
        other programs carried out by the Department of Labor that the 
        Secretary of Labor determines to be appropriate.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 
of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Labor, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Education, shall prepare and submit 
to Congress a report describing the activities conducted under this 
section and evaluating the effectiveness of such activities in 
achieving the purposes of this section.

SEC. 7. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR STUDY.

    The Comptroller General shall, not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, submit to Congress a study on the 
causes and effects of--
            (1) pay disparities among men and women;
            (2) with respect to employees that leave the workforce for 
        parental reasons (commonly referred to as the ``Manager's 
        Gap''), the impact on pay and opportunity potential; and
            (3) the disparities in negotiation skills among men and 
        women upon entering the workforce.
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