Senate Democrats continue to push pay equity as a pre-November
election theme. On Wednesday, the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 2199) resurfaced to serve this purpose.
Supporters of the bill needed at least 60 votes on a motion to
proceed to consideration of the measure. The chamber voted 73-25 in
favor of proceeding.
This bill would expand damages available under the Equal Pay Act
(EPA) to include potentially unlimited compensatory and punitive
awards for wage discrimination; weaken an employer's ability to
raise the "factor other than sex" affirmative defense in
a wage discrimination case; ease the requirements for bringing a
class action lawsuit under the EPA; make it unlawful for an
employer to prevent employees from discussing or comparing
salaries; and impose additional compensation reporting requirements
on employers. As explained in an April 2014 Senate hearing, critics of this legislation
said it would, among other things, subject employers to extremely
high
