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Legislation Summaries

The Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 17/ S. 728)

Background:

  • On March 9, 2023, Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), reintroduced the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation that will combat wage discrimination and help close the wage gap by strengthening the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and ensuring women can challenge pay discrimination.

  • On June 21, 2023, the bill was reported without amendment favorably by the Senate HELP Committee.

Talking Points:

  • Pay discrimination is a persistent problem in our country that perpetuates poverty and robs women of what they’ve earned.

  • Sixty years after passage of the Equal Pay Act, the wage gap persists, with dire impacts on women and families. Women working full-time, year-round are typically paid only 84 cents for every dollar paid to men. When we compare the earnings of all women who worked with the earnings of all men who worked—regardless of how many hours or weeks they worked—the pay gap is even worse: women are typically paid just 78 cents for every dollar paid to a man.

  • Women of color experience the most significant losses. When comparing all workers with earnings in 2022—regardless of how many hours or weeks they worked— Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) women overall made 80 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men, Black women were paid 66 cents, Native women 55 cents, and Latinas just 52 cents to the dollar.

  • The Paycheck Fairness Act would update and strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to ensure that it provides robust protection against sex-based pay discrimination which will help close the wage gap and ensure greater economic security for women and their families.

Among its provisions, the Paycheck Fairness Act would:

  • Bar retaliation against workers who voluntarily discuss or disclose their wages

  • Close loopholes that have allowed employers to pay women less than men for the same work without any important business justification related to the job

  • Ensure women can receive the same robust remedies for sex-based pay discrimination that are currently available to those subjected to discrimination based on race and ethnicity

  • Prohibit employers from relying on salary history in determining future pay, so that pay discrimination does not follow women from job to job.

  • Provide much needed training and technical assistance, as well as data collection and research