Capitol Hill file photo

Last week the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 7) by a 217-210 vote.

Introduced by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, (D-Conn), H.R. 7 would require employers to prove that any pay disparities between men and women employees are job related and consistent with business necessity, among other provisions, if enacted.

Some of the other provisions include making it easier for a plaintiff to participate in a class-action lawsuit that challenges systemic pay discrimination, strengthening the Equal Pay Act of 1963, prohibiting employers from asking job applicants about their salary history or using that history to set a prospective employee’s proposed salary.

The bill would also prohibit employers from retaliating against workers who discuss their pay with co-workers.

The proposed legislation has opponents.

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), said in a press release that H.R. 7 would make legitimate business-related pay differences difficult to defend in court, invite frivolous lawsuits against small business owners by allowing unlimited compensatory and punitive damages in equal pay lawsuits, and increase small business paperwork.

“The small business economy is fragile coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic and government-mandated business restrictions,” said Jeff Brabant, NFIB senior manager of federal government. “While small business owners believe in equal pay for equal work, this legislation will enrich trial lawyers at the expense of small business owners. And when small business owners appear in court to defend themselves from these claims, this bill would make it nearly impossible to do so when an ‘alternative employment practice exists’ at a larger company that has nothing in common with the small business.”

In a letter to congressional leaders, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), stated that the Paycheck Fairness Act would restrict small and mid-sized businesses their ability to base pay decisions on legitimate business practices…”.

On reintroducing the bill, which has been reintroduced multiple times since 1997, Delauro said that the legislation is long overdue to help close the worsening pay gap and protect and empower women as they re-enter the job force.

H.R. 7 also has support from Education and Labor Committee Chairman Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA).

“Today, women earn, on average, 80 cents on the dollar compared to white men in similar jobs.  The wage gap is even worse for women of color, and it exists across every sector, regardless of education, experience, occupation, industry, or job title,” Scott said, according to his congressional website.