Paycheck Fairness Act would Strengthen and Close Loopholes in the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Ensure Women are Paid what They Deserve
WASHINGTON – This week, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) joined a group of his Senate colleagues in re-introducing the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation that would strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and guarantee that women can challenge pay discrimination and hold employers accountable. In the 116th Congress, the Paycheck Fairness Act will be designated H.R. 7.
“Hard work should pay off for everyone. Period,” said Brown. “Women and men who do the same job should receive the same pay. It’s that simple. When all of us have equal opportunity to succeed, there is no limit to what we can achieve for our state and our country, and I will not stop fighting until we get this done.”
The bill would strengthen and close loopholes in the Equal Pay Act of 1963 by holding employers accountable for discriminatory practices, ending the practice of pay secrecy, easing workers’ ability to individually or jointly challenge pay discrimination, and strengthening the available remedies for wronged employees.
The Paycheck Fairness Act was introduced in the Senate by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and in the House by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). The House legislation has 240 cosponsors (every Democratic Member of the House and one Republican Member) and the Senate legislation has 45 cosponsors, including Senator Brown, who has been a staunch advocate of closing the gender wage gap. Senator Brown has long fought for the kind of family and medical leave policies that will help hardworking people across this country, including paid family and medical leave, raising the minimum wage, boosting women’s representation in high-paying careers and particularly the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, and more.