Paycheck Fairness Act of 2009

The Paycheck Fairness Act would close the gender wage gap by strengthening the Equal Pay Act (EPA) of 1963, which prohibits employers from paying unequal wages to men and women who perform substantially equal work. Although the wage gap has narrowed since the EPA was enacted, women still earn only 78 cents for every dollar paid to men.[1] Women of color face even greater disparities: African American women earn only 62 cents and Latina women earn only 53 cents for each dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men.[2] This bill would close loopholes in the EPA by:

• Allowing women to collect compensatory and punitive damages for sex-based pay discrimination. Currently, victims of sex-based discrimination only have access to liquidated damages and back pay awards, which tend to be insubstantial.[3]
• Making it easier to file class action lawsuits over EPA violations. Currently, the EPA requires plaintiffs to opt in to a suit. Under H.R. 12, class members would automatically be considered part of the class unless they choose to opt out of the class.[4]
• Prohibiting employers from retaliating against workers who share salary information with coworkers, increasing the likelihood employees will be able to discover pay discrimination.[5]
• Tightening the employers’ affirmative defense that currently allows an employer to broadly justify male-female wage disparities. Under H.R. 12, employers would be required to demonstrate that a pay differential is based on “a bona fide factor other than sex, such as education, training, or experience.”[6]

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