Maloney Joins with Delauro to Close Gender Pay Gap with Paycheck Fairness Act

Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) today joined Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) in reintroducing the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation which would help close the wage gap between women and men working the same jobs. On average, women make just 78 cents for every dollar made by a man.

"Equal pay for equal work ought to be a guaranteed, but sadly women still earn just 78 cents for every dollar made by a man," said Maloney. "This disparity is devastating when calculated over the course of a woman's career and factored into retirement savings. I am proud to be working with Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would create accountability and additional transparency to ensure that this type of economic discrimination no longer occurs."

The Paycheck Fairness Act builds upon the landmark Equal Pay Act signed into law in 1963 by closing loopholes that have kept it from achieving its goal of equal pay. The bill would require employers to show pay disparity is truly related to job performance, not gender.

It also prohibits employer retaliation for sharing salary information with coworkers. Under current law employers can sue and punish employees for sharing such information. In addition, it strengthens remedies for pay discrimination by increasing compensation women can seek, allowing them to seek both back pay and punitive damages for pay discrimination.

The bill empowers women in the workplace through a grant program to strengthen salary negotiation and other workplace skills, and requires the Department of Labor to enhance outreach and training efforts to eliminate pay disparities.

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