Legislation Summaries
The Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 17/ S. 728)
Background:
On March 9, 2023, Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), reintroduced the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation that will combat wage discrimination and help close the wage gap by strengthening the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and ensuring women can challenge pay discrimination.
On June 21, 2023, the bill was reported without amendment favorably by the Senate HELP Committee.
Talking Points:
Pay discrimination is a persistent problem in our country that perpetuates poverty and robs women of what they've earned.
Sixty years after passage of the Equal Pay Act, the wage gap persists, with dire impacts on women and families. Women working full-time, year-round are typically paid only 84 cents for every dollar paid to men. When we compare the earnings of all women who worked with the earnings of all men who worked—regardless of how many hours or weeks they worked—the pay gap is even worse: women are typically paid just 78 cents for every dollar paid to a man.
Women of color experience the most significant losses. When comparing all workers with earnings in 2022—regardless of how many hours or weeks they worked— Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) women overall made 80 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men, Black women were paid 66 cents, Native women 55 cents, and Latinas just 52 cents to the dollar.
The Paycheck Fairness Act would update and strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to ensure that it provides robust protection against sex-based pay discrimination which will help close the wage gap and ensure greater economic security for women and their families.
Among its provisions, the Paycheck Fairness Act would:
Bar retaliation against workers who voluntarily discuss or disclose their wages
Close loopholes that have allowed employers to pay women less than men for the same work without any important business justification related to the job
Ensure women can receive the same robust remedies for sex-based pay discrimination that are currently available to those subjected to discrimination based on race and ethnicity
Prohibit employers from relying on salary history in determining future pay, so that pay discrimination does not follow women from job to job.
Provide much needed training and technical assistance, as well as data collection and research
The Bringing an End to Harassment by Enhancing Accountability and Rejecting Discrimination (Be HEARD) in the Workplace Act
Background:
Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Representative Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) will reintroduce The Bringing an End to Harassment by Enhancing Accountability and Rejecting Discrimination (Be HEARD) in the Workplace Act.
Reintroduction is expected in late July 2024.
To cosponsor, please contact Senator Murray and Representative Pressley’s offices.
Talking Points:
Despite the existence of federal and state anti-discrimination laws, harassment and other forms of discrimination remain pervasive and have a disproportional impact on women.
Service industry employees, domestic workers, and other low-wage workers experience some of the highest rates of workplace sexual harassment, which often intersects with other forms of harassment and discrimination, such as race, age, and national origin.
Unfortunately, existing legal protections are insufficient to adequately protect workers. Moreover, many are excluded and unprotected under federal law.
It’s time to close the loopholes and gaps in our laws that leave so many workers without recourse following harassment or other forms of discrimination.
We must ensure that everyone is entitled to safety and dignity at work.
Provisions in the Bill
The Bringing an End to Harassment by Enhancing Accountability and Rejecting Discrimination (Be HEARD) in the Workplace Act, is comprehensive federal legislation to address workplace harassment, including by:
Extending federal protections against harassment and other forms of discrimination to all working people, including, interns, contractors, and those working for employers with fewer than 15 employees;
Promoting transparency and accountability in the workplace;
Protecting LGBTQIA+ workers by clarifying that sex discrimination at work includes harassment and other forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity;
Eliminating forced arbitration agreements and limiting non disclosure agreements— both common ways employers silence survivors;
Eliminating the federal subminimum wage for tipped workers ($2.13/hour), which makes service industry workers, who often rely on tips to make ends meet, more vulnerable to harassment.
The Bringing an End to Harassment by Enhancing Accountability and Rejecting Discrimination (BE HEARD) in the Workplace Act is critical legislation to ensure workers are adequately protected from workplace harassment.
The Health Families Act (S. 1664/H.R. 3409)
Background:
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn) reintroduced the Healthy Families Act to their respective chambers as S. 1664 and H.R. 3409 on May 17, 2023.
As of August 2024, in the Senate, the bill has been placed on the Legislative Calendar after being referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. In the House, the bill has been referred to the Committees on Education and the Workforce, House Administration, and Oversight and Accountability.
Talking Points:
Too many American workers are forced to choose between health and income. Federal law does not currently guarantee the right to paid time off for short term illness, and nearly one in four private sector employees have no paid sick days with which to take care of themselves or their children or other family members.
Lower-wage workers particularly struggle to access paid sick time. This has a notable impact on communities of color, immigrants, and LGBTQ+ workers, as these populations are overrepresented in low-wage jobs.
Paid sick day policies at the state and local level have been demonstrated to work well, without negative business or economic impacts.
Paid sick leave is a public health issue. Workers without paid leave are much more likely to go to work sick and send their sick children to school, exposing others to potential illness. Workers without paid leave are three times as likely to forego or delay necessary medical care for themselves, and twice as likely to forego such care for their families.
Provisions in the Bill:
The Healthy Families Act is federal legislation that would dramatically expand access to paid sick time for working Americans. The bill would:
Allow workers at businesses with 15 or more employees to earn up to seven job-protected paid sick days a year to take care of themselves or their families. At businesses with fewer than 15 employees, workers would earn up to seven unpaid sick days a year.
Permit workers who are survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, or stalking to use paid sick time to recover and seek related assistance.
Establish a straightforward calculation for sick time accrual.
Authorize employers to require certification if an employee uses more than three paid sick days in a row, and to continue to use existing policies so long as they satisfy bill requirements.
The Healthy Families Act is necessary legislation to protect the health and financial security of working Americans and their families by establishing paid sick leave standards nationwide.
Click here to download a PDF of the FAMILY Act and the Healthy Families Act
FAMILY Act (S. 1714/H.R. 3481)
Background:
Senator Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn) introduced S. 1714 and H.R. 3481— the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act—to their respective chambers on May 18, 2023.
As of August 2024, the bill has been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance.
The current FAMILY Act is the latest version of a paid family and medical leave proposal the members have sponsored and advocated for since 2013.
Talking Points:
The majority of the American workforce does not have access to paid employment leave. Only 43% of workers have personal medical leave, and a mere 27% have paid family leave. This lack of access causes working families to lose an estimated $22.6 billion in wages each year.
Women, who are more likely to be family caregivers, are particularly impacted by the absence of paid leave. New mothers who do not receive paid leave are less likely to report wage increases and more likely to leave the workforce altogether. Older women who leave the workforce to care for a parent average higher losses in income and retirement than men.
Paid leave benefits businesses and strengthens the economy. Paid leave saves costs for employers by decreasing turnover and increasing employee engagement. National paid family leave could add $775 billion to the US GDP by increasing women’s participation in the workforce. Analyses of existing state-based paid leave programs show benefits to both employers and employees.
Provisions in the Bill:
The Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act is comprehensive federal legislation that would make paid leave accessible for working families and affordable for employers, including by:
Providing all workers with up to 12 weeks of partial income when they take leave to tend to their own serious health conditions (including pregnancy and childbirth recovery) or those of a family member. Leave to address the effects of gender-based violence or to make arrangements related to the military deployment of an immediate family member would also be covered.
Protecting workers from retaliation, including by guaranteeing that workers who have been at their job for more than 90 days have the right to be reinstated after leave.
Creating a shared paid leave fund through small employee and employer payroll contributions of two cents per $10 in wages. Contributions would cover both paid leave insurance benefits and administration costs for a new federal Office of Paid Family and Medical Leave.
Covering workers in all companies, regardless of size. Part-time, lower-wage, and self-employed workers would all be eligible for benefits.
The FAMILY Act is critical legislation to support a thriving economy and the ability of workers to effectively balance the needs of work and family.
Click here to download a PDF of the FAMILY Act and the Healthy Families Act
The Salary Transparency Act (H.R.1599)
Background:
Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced H.R.1599, the “Salary Transparency Act,” on March 14, 2023.
The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
To cosponsor, please contact Rep. Norton’s office.
Talking Points:
Salary Transparency is a tool to close the wage gap and combat bias:
Despite the existence of federal and state equal pay laws, the gender wage gap persists and is especially harmful for women of color.
The Salary Transparency Act will help close the wage gap, ensuring greater economic security for women and their families.
Increasing pay transparency, by providing more public information about job pay ranges, is a critical component to closing the wage gap, particularly at the hiring stage. Research shows that when job applicants have more information about salary ranges that are already set for jobs, gender differences in negotiation outcomes diminish, helping to equalize opportunities for people of different genders at the bargaining table.
Moreover, when employers must set pay ranges that are tied to the duties of a job, it helps reduce subjectivity and bias in the process of setting wages.
The much narrower wage gap in the public sector, where governmental agencies typically have transparent and public pay structures, is further evidence that greater salary range transparency helps reduce wage disparities.
Posting salary ranges is good for business:
Providing salary ranges for a position can help employers more efficiently and accurately match with candidates whose salary requirements are aligned with what they can offer.
Research shows that pay transparency promotes employee loyalty and productivity and companies with strong pay equity policies tend to have less turnover, all of which is good for employers’ bottom line.
Provisions in the Bill
The Salary Transparency Act (H.R.1599) would advance pay transparency by requiring employers to:
Include the applicable wage or wage range in both internal and public job postings;
Disclose to applicants the wage or wage range for an employment opportunity prior to discussing compensation with the applicant and at any time upon their request;
Disclose to existing employees the wage or wage range for their position upon hire, at least annually thereafter, and at any time upon the employee’s request.
The Salary Transparency Act would also prohibit retaliation against an employee or job applicant for exercising their rights under the bill.