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Managing America: Labor

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Week Ending August 1, 2008

H.R.1338 To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide more effective remedies to victims of discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis of sex, and for other purposes.

Although the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 includes provisions requiring equal pay for women doing the same job as men, the bill would increase the effectiveness of the Act by revising enforcement and remedies of provisions regarding sex discrimination in the paycheck.

The additions included a prohibition on retaliation against a claimant under the Act, an increase in penalties for violation and the option to seek compensatory and punitive damages through the Secretary of labor.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission employees will be trained on the issue of wage discrimination and grants are authorized to individuals and organizations to provide negotiation skills training for women and girls. The training and education will be facilitated by the Secretary of Education.

The Department of Labor will collect data to create statistics on woman workers and will use specific methods to investigate compensation discrimination and to enforce pay equity. Information on compensation discrimination is to be made readily available to the public. The DOL must ensure that companies receiving Federal contracts comply with anti-discrimination affirmative action requirements

The bill findings reflect that there are artificial barriers to equal pay between men and women despite the enactment of the Fair Labors Standards Act in 1938. The bill holds that eliminating those barriers would provide a solution to problems in the economy due to unequal pay, would substantially reduce the number of working women who earn unfairly low wages thereby reducing the need for public assistance, would promote stable families, and would provide equal protection under the Constitution.

To avoid violating the law, an employer paying different wages to different sexes must show that the difference is job-related or furthers a legitimate business purpose. If the employee can show that a different approach would have the same business purpose results, then the pay differential is in violation.

Sponsor:  Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-3^rd)

Vote: Passed House amended July 31, 2008 247 to 178 RC 556. the Motion to recommit the bill failed 189 to 236 RC 555

Cost to the taxpayers: “CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1338 would cost $15 million over the 2009-2013 period, assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts.”

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AMENDMENTS

Congress makes the following findings:

(1) Women have entered the workforce in record numbers over the past 50 years.

(2) Even today, women earn significantly lower pay than men for work on jobs that require equal skill, effort, and responsibility and that are performed under similar working conditions. These pay disparities exist in both the private and governmental sectors. In many instances, the pay disparities can only be due to continued intentional discrimination or the lingering effects of past discrimination.

(3) The existence of such pay disparities--

(A) depresses the wages of working families who rely on the wages of all members of the family to make ends meet;

(B) undermines women's retirement security, which is often based on earnings while in the workforce;

(C) prevents the optimum utilization of available labor resources;

(D) has been spread and perpetuated, through commerce and the channels and instrumentalities of commerce, among the workers of the several States;

(E) burdens commerce and the free flow of goods in commerce;

(F) constitutes an unfair method of competition in commerce;

(G) leads to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce and the free flow of goods in commerce;

(H) interferes with the orderly and fair marketing of goods in commerce; and

(I) in many instances, may deprive workers of equal protection on the basis of sex in violation of the 5th and 14th amendments.

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AMENDMENTS

Amendment offered by Ms. Bean.

Amendment offered by Mr. Flake.

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