Paycheck Fairness Act

Bill Number

S. 1115

Origin Chamber

Senate

Congress

119th Congress, Session 1

Policy Area

Labor and Employment

Status

Introduced

Latest Action

2025-03-25: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Last Updated

2025-04-21T12:24:17Z

AI-Generated Summary

Purpose of the Legislation

The Paycheck Fairness Act aims to strengthen protections against sex-based wage discrimination by amending the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA). It seeks to close the gender pay gap—where women, particularly women of color, often earn less than men for similar work—through better enforcement, data collection, training, and remedies for victims. The bill recognizes ongoing disparities despite the 1963 Equal Pay Act and promotes fair wages to support families, reduce reliance on public assistance, and boost economic participation.

Key Provisions

• Enhanced Equal Pay Enforcement (Sec. 3):
• Tightens the "bona fide factor" defense (e.g., reasons like education or experience must justify pay differences without sex bias, be job-related, and account for the full gap; employers cannot ignore alternative non-discriminatory practices).
• Expands the definition of "same establishment" to include workplaces in the same county or similar local area.
• Prohibits retaliation against employees for discussing or inquiring about wages, and bans agreements that prevent wage disclosure (with exceptions for job duties involving confidential data).
• Allows compensatory damages (to cover losses) and punitive damages (to punish willful violations) in lawsuits; permits class actions (group lawsuits) under federal court rules; includes attorney and expert fees in awards.
• Training and Education (Secs. 4–6):
• Requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) to provide training on wage discrimination.
• Authorizes grants for negotiation skills training programs targeting women and girls, integrated into existing education and workforce programs.
• Mandates Department of Labor (DOL) research, outreach, and public information on eliminating pay gaps, with a focus on underrepresented groups; requires a report on the gender pay gap among teenagers, including trends, causes, and recommendations.
• Awards and Recognition (Sec. 7): Establishes an annual DOL award for employers, unions, or organizations that proactively reduce pay disparities.
• Data Collection (Secs. 8–9):
• Directs EEOC to collect employer data on compensation, hours, hiring, promotions, and terminations, broken down by sex, race, ethnicity, and job category (for employers with 100+ employees); data will aid investigations and be publicly reported in aggregate form.
• Requires Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to continue tracking women's pay data; strengthens OFCCP reviews of federal contractors using broader evidence of discrimination; mandates DOL to distribute information on wage rights and compliance.
• Salary History Restrictions (Sec. 10): Bans employers from asking about or using a job applicant's past wages to set pay (except if the applicant voluntarily provides it after a job offer to negotiate higher pay); prohibits retaliation for opposing these practices; imposes civil penalties up to $10,000 and allows lawsuits for damages.
• Implementation and Funding (Secs. 11–14): Authorizes necessary funding (no earmarks for grants); provides technical assistance for small businesses, with exemptions for very small enterprises; ensures compliance with immigration laws; includes a severability clause (invalid parts do not affect the rest).

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• To the Equal Pay Act (part of FLSA): Replaces the broad "any factor other than sex" defense with a stricter "bona fide factor" test, requiring proof it's not sex-based and no better alternative exists; broadens anti-retaliation protections to include wage discussions; introduces punitive damages (previously unavailable) and explicitly allows class actions.
• To Civil Rights Act of 1964: Adds mandatory EEOC collection of detailed pay data by demographics, reversing a 2017 suspension of similar requirements.
• New Elements: Introduces salary history bans (building on state laws but making it federal); expands "establishment" beyond single sites; reinstates and enhances federal contractor oversight without relying solely on complex statistical analyses.

Potential Impacts

• On Government Agencies: Increases workload for DOL, EEOC, OFCCP, and BLS through data collection, training, grants, research, and enforcement; requires more resources for investigations and public reporting, potentially improving targeted enforcement but straining budgets without full funding.
• On Citizens: Empowers women workers, especially minorities and teens, with stronger tools to challenge pay discrimination, potentially narrowing the wage gap, boosting earnings, retirement security, and family stability; reduces barriers to negotiation and job mobility but may indirectly raise compliance costs passed to consumers.
• On International Relations: Minimal direct impact, though enhanced U.S. pay equity standards could influence global labor norms or trade discussions on fair competition.

Main Stakeholders Affected

• Workers: Primarily women (including women of color, teens, and girls) who face pay disparities; benefits victims through easier remedies and protections.
• Employers: Private companies (especially those with 100+ employees and federal contractors), unions, and educational entities; face new reporting, training, and compliance requirements, with awards for proactive efforts.
• Government and Nonprofits: DOL, EEOC, OFCCP, BLS, and community organizations involved in training and outreach; small businesses get exemptions and assistance to ease burdens.
• Families and Economy: Broader society, as fairer wages could lower public assistance needs and promote economic growth.

Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications

• Legal: Bolsters FLSA enforcement by aligning it with modern anti-discrimination standards, facilitating more lawsuits and reducing evidentiary hurdles; the salary history ban promotes "pay transparency" without overriding state laws; class action provisions could lead to larger settlements but increase litigation risks for employers.
• Constitutional: Invokes Congress's power under the Commerce Clause to address pay gaps' economic effects and the Fifth/Fourteenth Amendments for equal protection against sex discrimination; findings highlight potential constitutional violations in persistent disparities.
• Political: Represents a bipartisan-supported push (introduced by many Democrats) for gender equity, recognizing employer progress while critiquing gaps in the 1963 law; could spark debates on federal overreach into hiring practices or data privacy, but emphasizes voluntary compliance and small business relief to build support.

This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.

Sponsor

Sen. Murray, Patty [D-WA]

Cosponsors (46)

Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT], Sen. Alsobrooks, Angela D. [D-MD], Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI], Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO], Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT], Sen. Blunt Rochester, Lisa [D-DE], Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ], Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA], Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE], Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV], Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL], Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL], Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA], Sen. Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ], Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY], Sen. Hassan, Margaret Wood [D-NH], Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM], Sen. Hickenlooper, John W. [D-CO], Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI], Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA], Sen. Kelly, Mark [D-AZ], Sen. Kim, Andy [D-NJ], Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME], Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN], Sen. Lujan, Ben Ray [D-NM], Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA], Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR], Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT], Sen. Ossoff, Jon [D-GA], Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA], Sen. Peters, Gary C. [D-MI], Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI], Sen. Rosen, Jacky [D-NV], Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI], Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA], Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY], Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH], Sen. Slotkin, Elissa [D-MI], Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN], Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD], Sen. Warner, Mark R. [D-VA], Sen. Warnock, Raphael G. [D-GA], Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA], Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT], Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI], Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR]

Recent Actions

• 2025-03-25: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
• 2025-03-25: Introduced in Senate

Bill Versions

• Paycheck Fairness Act — issued 2025-03-25 — PDF (30 pages)