Bill > S270

Introduced Session

A bill to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide more effective remedies to victims of discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis of sex, and for other purposes. This bill addresses wage discrimination on the basis of sex. It amends equal pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to (1) restrict the use of the bona fide factor defense to wage discrimination claims, (2) enhance nonretaliation prohibitions, (3) make it unlawful to require an employee to sign a contract or waiver prohibiting the employee from disclosing information about the employee's wages, and (4) increase civil penalties for violations of equal pay provisions. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs shall train EEOC employees and other affected parties on wage discrimination. The bill directs the Department of Labor to: (1) establish and carry out a grant program for negotiation skills training for girls and women, (2) conduct studies to eliminate pay disparities between men and women, and (3) make available information on wage discrimination to assist the public in understanding and addressing such discrimination. The Secretary of Labor's National Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace is established for an employer who has made a substantial effort to eliminate pay disparities between men and women. The bill requires the EEOC to issue regulations for collecting from employers compensation and other employment data according to the sex, race, and national origin of employees for use in enforcing laws prohibiting pay discrimination.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Patty Murray (D)*,  Tammy Baldwin (D),  Michael Bennet (D),  Richard Blumenthal (D),  Cory Booker (D),  Sherrod Brown (D),  Maria Cantwell (D),  Ben Cardin (D),  Tom Carper (D),  Bob Casey (D),  Chris Coons (D),  Catherine Cortez Masto (D),  Tammy Duckworth (D),  Dick Durbin (D),  Dianne Feinstein (D),  Kirsten Gillibrand (D),  Kamala Harris (D),  Maggie Hassan (D),  Martin Heinrich (D),  Mazie Hirono (D),  Doug Jones (D),  Tim Kaine (D),  Angus King (I),  Amy Klobuchar (D),  Patrick Leahy (D),  Joe Manchin (I),  Ed Markey (D),  Bob Menendez (D),  Jeff Merkley (D),  Chris Murphy (D),  Gary Peters (D),  Jack Reed (D),  Jacky Rosen (D),  Bernie Sanders (I),  Brian Schatz (D),  Chuck Schumer (D),  Jeanne Shaheen (D),  Kyrsten Sinema (I),  Tina Smith (D),  Debbie Stabenow (D),  Jon Tester (D),  Tom Udall (D),  Chris Van Hollen (D),  Mark Warner (D),  Elizabeth Warren (D),  Sheldon Whitehouse (D),  Ron Wyden (D), 

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (on 01/30/2019)

Official Document