April 15, 2021 | H. R. 7

Despite the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which made it illegal for employers to pay unequal wages to male and female employees for the same work, the gender wage gap persists in the private and public sector at every educational level. The gender wage gap cost women and their families thousands of dollars over their lifetime. Many struggling working families could use that potential money to make their ends meet and build better lives for themselves.

The Paycheck Fairness Act would give employees the right to ask and know what their colleagues earn, without fear of retaliation from their employers. If pay discrepancy was found between a female and male employee doing the same work, the employer would be required to prove that the discrepancy was a result of factors other than gender. In addition, the bill strengthens government agencies ability to identity and remedy systematic wage discrimination. Under the bill, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is directed to develop regulations to collect wage data and the Department of Labor (DOL) is instructed to use its investigative power to uncover wage discrimination, especially amongst their federal contractors.