Paycheck Fairness Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, this Nation has made far too little progress in the fight for equal pay in the workplace. In 2021, women who work full time year round are paid, on average, only 82 cents for every dollar paid to men. This adds up to over $400,000 in lost wages over the course of a woman's career.

For women of color, the gender gap is a gender chasm, with Latinas earning 55 cents, Black women earning 63 cents, and Asian American and Pacific Islander women earning a mere 52 cents for every dollar paid to a White man for the same work.

The long overdue Paycheck Fairness Act would bring us closer to closing these gaps by ensuring equal pay for equal work. Notably, it would hold employers accountable for discriminatory practices, end pay secrecy, ease workers' ability to challenge pay discrimination, and strengthen the available remedies for wronged employees.

I thank Congresswoman DeLauro for her tireless advocacy on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter of support from the National Women's Law Center. National Women's Law Center, April 14, 2021. Re Pass the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 7) and vote no on harmful amendments.

Dear Representative: As the House votes this week on the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 7), we strongly urge you to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act without amendments that limit its scope or undermine its critical protections.

Despite federal and state equal pay laws, gender pay gaps persist, and earnings lost to these gaps are exacerbating the financial effects of COVID-19, falling particularly heavily on women of color and the families who depend on their income. The Paycheck Fairness Act, which has been passed three previous times by the House of Representatives, mostly recently in the 116th Congress, offers a much-needed update to the Equal Pay Act of 1963 by providing new tools to battle pervasive pay gaps and to challenge discrimination.

Women are increasingly the primary or co-breadwinner in their families and cannot afford to be shortchanged. Women working full-time, year-round are typically paid only 82 cents for every dollar paid to men, adding up to a loss of more than $400,000 over a lifetime. This wage gap varies by race and is larger for many women of color: Black women working full time, year round typically make only 63 cents, Native American women only 60 cents, and Latinas only 55 cents, for every dollar paid to their white, non-Hispanic male counterparts. Latinas lose more than $1 million over a 40-year career due to the wage gap. While Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women make 85 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men, many AAPI communities experience drastically wider pay gaps. Mothers typically make only 75 cents for every dollar paid to fathers. And even when controlling for factors, such as education and experience, pay gaps persist and start early in women's careers and contribute to a wealth gap that follows them throughout their lifetimes. Persistent pay discrimination, often cloaked by employer-imposed pay secrecy policies, is one factor driving these wage gaps.

These pay gaps can be addressed only if workers have the legal tools necessary to challenge discrimination and employers are provided with effective incentives and technical assistance to comply with the law.

The Paycheck Fairness Act updates and strengthens the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to ensure that it provides robust protection against sex-based pay discrimination. Among other provisions, this comprehensive bill:

ends secrecy around pay by barring retaliation against workers who voluntarily discuss or disclose their wages, and requiring employers to report pay data to the EEOC

prohibits employers from relying on salary history in determining future pay, so that pay discrimination does not follow women from job to job

closes loopholes that have allowed employers to pay women less than men for the same work without any important business justification related to the job

ensures 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

provides much needed training and technical assistance, as well as data collection and research

The COVID-19 pandemic and systemic racism have exposed how the work performed primarily by women, and particularly Black and brown women, has long been and continues to be undervalued and underpaid, even as the rest of the country is newly recognizing the essential nature of this work. We cannot build back an economy that works for everyone without ensuring that all women can work with equality, safety, and dignity, starting with pay equity. Passing the Paycheck Fairness Act would mark a vitally important step toward ensuring this becomes reality.

We urge you to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act without harmful amendments that weaken its critical protections. Sincerely, Emily J. Martin,

Vice President for Education & Workplace Justice. Maya Raghu,

Director of Workplace Equality & Senior Counsel.

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Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I urge my House colleagues to vote for this package and close the gender wage gap once and for all.

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