labor lawAdivision of labor law center

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Paycheck Fairness Act, an amendment to the FLSA or federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

 

The Paycheck Fairness Act, also known as HB 12, would amend provisions of the FLSA to revise remedies and improve enforcement efforts for preventing wage discrimination based on an employee’s gender.

 

This act is likely to pass the Senate and be signed into law by President Barack Obama. If it does, employers may face many more lawsuits for discrimination based on gender.

 

Every employer should have a clear written policy prohibiting discrimination in the workplace, including gender discrimination and wage discrimination.

 

The Paycheck Fairness Act was passed to provide regulator support for the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

 

The voting was largely along party lines, with many Democrats supporting the bill, including Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, one of the bill’s chief sponsors. “In this economy, families are struggling to make ends meet. Not one of them deserves to be shortchanged, but because women still earn 78 cents for every dollar men earn, many unfortunately are,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn, chief sponsor of HR 12. “Today, by passing the Paycheck Fairness Act, we send a strong message that gender discrimination is unacceptable and women will have the tools they need to combat it.”

 

Opponents of the bill say that women earn 78% of what men do, because they are less committed to their careers and more likely to take time off for family matters, including childbirth, to stay at home with young children and to care for aging parents.

 

Despite the opposition of several business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and SHRM, the Society of Human Resource Management, the bill is likely to pass the Senate.

 

The AARP, the group formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons, on the other hand, supports both tills. According to AARP spokesperson David P. Sloane, the laws reflect, “workplace realities in providing proper redress to victims of discriminatory treatment, and the Paycheck Fairness Act strengthens protections against gender-based compensation discrimination.”

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