Administration Declines To Defend Its Equal Pay Rollback On The Merits, Tries To Dismiss Suit Instead — Plaintiffs Respond By Filing Opposition

Washington, DC — After the Trump Administration declined to defend its rollback of equal pay protections, instead moving to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the rollback, the plaintiffs in the suit responded today by filing an opposition to the government’s motion to dismiss.

In November 2017, Democracy Forward and the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) filed suit against the Trump Administration on behalf of NWLC and the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) for illegally rolling back critical pay transparency requirements intended to root out discrimination and close the wage gap. The suit, filed against the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and government officials, asserts that without these equal pay requirements, roughly 60,886 employers — who collectively employ 63 million workers — are empowered to continue shielding race and gender pay gaps from scrutiny. The EEOC had previously determined that the pay data collection was necessary to investigate pay discrimination and enforce civil rights laws.

The following statement is attributed to NWLC General Counsel and Vice President for Education and Workplace Justice Emily Martin, Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement Hector E. Sanchez Barba, and Democracy Forward Executive Director Anne Harkavy:

“It’s not a surprise the Trump Administration declined to defend its decision to roll back equal pay protections on the merits. It’s indefensible. Not only is the data in question critical to closing the wage gap faced by women and minorities, collecting it is a no-brainer for anyone interested in sound, data-driven policymaking. The Trump Administration’s attempt to dismiss our case is a shameful attempt to avoid accountability, and we have confidence that the Court will recognize the strength of our case.”

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For immediate release:  February 28, 2018
Contact:  Maria Patrick ([email protected]) or Olympia Feil ([email protected])