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House Passes Paycheck Fairness Act that Protects Against Pay Discrimination and Closes Wage Gap
(Washington, D.C.) Today, the House of Representatives passed the Paycheck Fairness Act with the support of every Democrat in the House and seven House Republicans. The Paycheck Fairness Act will update and strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and provide additional protections against pay discrimination. Among other provisions, this bill will prohibit employers from relying on salary history to set pay when hiring, guarantee women can receive the same remedies for sex-based pay discrimination as are available for race- or ethnicity-based discrimination, promote pay transparency by protecting workers from retaliation for discussing or disclosing their wages, and require employers to report pay to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The following is a statement by Emily Martin, Vice President for Education & Workplace Justice:
“If we don’t close the gender wage gap, a woman starting her career today stands to lose more than $400,000 over a 40-year career. And based on today’s gender wage gap, Latinas will lose over $1 million and Black women and Native women, close to that. That is life-changing money. Today, with the passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act in the House, we took a big step toward that change—not only for the women who will finally be paid what they are owed, but for entire families and whole communities. We call on the Senate to immediately take up this crucial legislation to ensure that women are able to work with equality, dignity, and safety.”
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For immediate release: March 27, 2019
Contact: Inés Rénique ([email protected])
