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ARTICLE · 11 MARCH 2019

Paycheck Fairness Act Advances (Beltway Buzz, March 1, 2019)

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart
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On February 26, 2019, the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor voted, along party lines, to approve the Paycheck Fairness Act (PFA).

United StatesEmployment and HR
James J. Plunkett
James J. Plunkett
Harold Coxson
Harold Coxson
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Paycheck Fairness Act Advances. On February 26, 2019, the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor voted, along party lines, to approve the Paycheck Fairness Act (PFA). Republican amendments to limit attorneys' fees and to strike the pay data collection provisions of the bill were not adopted. As a reminder, the PFA would amend the Equal Pay Act of 1963 by replacing the "factor other than sex" defense with a "bona fide factor other than sex" defense that must be "job-related" and "consistent with business necessity"; would provide for uncapped compensatory and punitive damages; would require the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to develop mechanisms for the collection of employee compensation data from employers; and would enact prohibitions on the use of, or inquiry into, job applicants' pay histories. The next stop for the bill will be the House floor.

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