During the White House Middle Class Task Force forum on work and family issues, the White House and various members of the administration called for passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 12, S. 182), equal pay legislation that cleared the House of Representatives in January 2009. Specifically, this measure would, among other things, expand damages under the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to include potentially unlimited compensatory and punitive awards, amend the broad affirmative defense previously available to employers that the pay differential in question is caused by a factor other than sex, and would eliminate the “establishment” requirement that employees must work in the same place of employment for wage comparison purposes.

According to Vice President Biden’s domestic policy advisor, the nation’s gender pay gap cannot be fully addressed without passing the Paycheck Fairness Act:

The Paycheck Fairness Act gives women more tools to get fair pay in the workplace. For example, the legislation allows employees to inquire about wages or share salary information without fear of reprisals. The Act closes loopholes that make it harder for women to challenge being paid different wages for the same work, and it ensures that women who prove their case are compensated fairly.

In addition to supporting the bill’s passage, the Equal Pay Enforcement Task Force, which is comprised of members of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Labor (DOL), and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), issued a number of other recommendations (pdf) to address pay discrimination during the forum. These suggestions include the following:

• Improve interagency coordination and enforcement efforts to maximize effectiveness of existing authorities.
• Collect data on the private workforce to better understand the scope of the pay gap and target enforcement efforts.
• Undertake a public education campaign to educate employers on their obligations and employees on their rights.
• Implement a strategy to improve the federal government’s role as a model employer.

To that end, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis announced that the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) will issue an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) early next year that will seek input on how to improve the Equal Opportunity (EO) survey. The EO survey, which was abolished during the Bush Administration, allowed the agency to gather certain employment information from federal contractors and subcontractors related to their Affirmative Action Programs, personnel activity and compensation. The Paycheck Fairness Act would reinstate the EO survey, and provide the OFCCP with additional investigative methodologies to use in performing compensation analysis.

Photo credit:  DigitalZombie