{ "id": "RL31867", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "RL31867", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 452728, "date": "2016-05-20", "retrieved": "2016-11-28T22:11:37.179572", "title": "Pay Equity: Legislative and Legal Developments", "summary": "According to some federal data, on average, full-time female workers earn approximately 20% less than full-time male workers. At least a portion of this gap is due to observable factors such as hours worked and the concentration of female workers in lower-paid occupations. Some interpret these data as evidence that discrimination, if present at all, is a minor factor in the pay differentials and conclude that no policy changes are necessary. Conversely, advocates for further policy interventions note that some of the explanatory factors of the pay gap (such as occupation and hours worked) could be the result of discrimination and that no broadly accepted methodology is able to attribute the entirety of the pay gap to non-gender factors.\nCurrently, there are two federal laws that may provide a remedy to employees who believe that unlawful sex-based wage discrimination has occurred: the Equal Pay Act (EPA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Under the EPA, employers are prohibited from paying lower wages to female employees than male employees for \u201cequal work\u201d on jobs requiring \u201cequal skill, effort, and responsibility\u201d and performed \u201cunder similar working conditions\u201d at the same location. Thus, the EPA is narrowly focused on the factual question of whether an employer has, on the basis of sex, paid unequal wages for equal work. In contrast, Title VII, which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, and sex, is far broader in scope than the EPA and focuses on determining whether an employer had a discriminatory motive for paying workers differently on the basis of sex.\nMeanwhile, the issue of pay equity has attracted substantial attention in recent congressional sessions. For example, a number of measures, including bills that would provide additional remedies, mandate \u201cequal pay for equivalent jobs,\u201d or require studies on pay inequity, have been introduced in the 114th Congress. These bills include the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 1619/S. 862), the Fair Pay Act (H.R. 1787), the End Pay Discrimination Through Information Act (S. 83), the Workplace Advancement Act (S. 2200), and the Gender Advancement in Pay Act (GAP Act; S. 2773). This report also discusses pay equity litigation, including Wal-Mart Stores v. Dukes, a case in which the Supreme Court rejected class action status for current and former female Wal-Mart employees who allege that the company has engaged in pay discrimination.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL31867", "sha1": "d3d501b245e3196a9bf29f850a435efa805f0105", "filename": "files/20160520_RL31867_d3d501b245e3196a9bf29f850a435efa805f0105.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL31867", "sha1": "14a34505be53122e0e6d8dc27853bde6419222af", "filename": "files/20160520_RL31867_14a34505be53122e0e6d8dc27853bde6419222af.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4768, "name": "Wages & Benefits" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4942, "name": "Labor Standards" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 425893, "date": "2013-11-22", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T20:51:32.748997", "title": "Pay Equity: Legislative and Legal Developments", "summary": "The term \u201cpay gap\u201d refers to the difference in earnings between male and female workers. While the pay gap has narrowed since the 1960s, female workers with a strong attachment to the labor force earn about 77 to 81 cents for every dollar earned by similar male workers. Studies have analyzed the earnings and characteristics of male and female workers and found that a substantial portion of the pay gap is attributable to non-gender factors such as occupation and employment tenure. Some interpret these studies as evidence that discrimination, if present at all, is a minor factor in the pay gap and conclude that no policy changes are necessary. Conversely, advocates for further policy interventions note that some of the explanatory factors of the pay gap (such as occupation and hours worked) could be the result of discrimination and that no broadly accepted methodology is able to attribute the entirety of the pay gap to non-gender factors.\nThe Equal Pay Act (EPA), which amends the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), prohibits covered employers from paying lower wages to female employees than male employees for \u201cequal work\u201d on jobs requiring \u201cequal skill, effort, and responsibility\u201d and performed \u201cunder similar working conditions\u201d at the same location. The FLSA exempts some jobs (e.g., hotel service workers) from EPA coverage, and the EPA makes exceptions for wage differentials based on merit or seniority systems, systems that measure earnings by \u201cquality or quantity\u201d of production, or \u201cany factor other than sex.\u201d The \u201cequal work\u201d standard embodies a middle ground between demanding that two jobs either be exactly alike or that they merely be comparable. The test applied by the courts focuses on job similarity and whether, given all the circumstances, they require substantially the same skill, effort, and responsibility. The EPA may be enforced by the government, or individual complainants, in civil actions for wages unlawfully withheld and liquidated damages for willful violations. In addition, Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act provides for the awarding of compensatory and punitive damages to victims of \u201cintentional\u201d wage discrimination, subject to caps on the employer\u2019s monetary liability.\nThe issue of pay equity has attracted substantial attention in recent Congresses. A number of measures, including bills that would provide additional remedies, mandate \u201cequal pay for equivalent jobs,\u201d or require studies on pay inequity, have been introduced in each of the last several congressional sessions. These bills include the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 377/S. 84) and the Fair Pay Act (H.R. 438/S. 168) in the 113th Congress. This report also discusses pay equity litigation, including Wal-Mart Stores v. Dukes, a case in which the Supreme Court rejected class action status for current and former female Wal-Mart employees who allege that the company has engaged in pay discrimination.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL31867", "sha1": "2499771d670a911f1be17b501154f8f17a45fbb6", "filename": "files/20131122_RL31867_2499771d670a911f1be17b501154f8f17a45fbb6.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL31867", "sha1": "478da10836d910d7583ae888511c2a610b031f1e", "filename": "files/20131122_RL31867_478da10836d910d7583ae888511c2a610b031f1e.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc87264/", "id": "RL31867_2012Jun01", "date": "2012-06-01", "retrieved": "2012-07-03T07:51:21", "title": "Pay Equity Legislation", "summary": "This report gives an overview of \"pay equity,\" a term referring to the fact that women as a group are paid less than men. It includes the history of pay equity, legal and legislative background, and recent legislation.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20120601_RL31867_bdde049856051562e6b6d5dcd34d906b9c57660f.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20120601_RL31867_bdde049856051562e6b6d5dcd34d906b9c57660f.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Labor", "name": "Labor" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Pay equity - Law and legislation", "name": "Pay equity - Law and legislation" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Women", "name": "Women" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc822321/", "id": "RL31867_2012Jan06", "date": "2012-01-06", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Pay Equity Legislation", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20120106_RL31867_e6d56ba9737fe8bb0c8f210a5ae55aa240e05be3.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20120106_RL31867_e6d56ba9737fe8bb0c8f210a5ae55aa240e05be3.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc811149/", "id": "RL31867_2010Sep20", "date": "2010-09-20", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Pay Equity Legislation", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20100920_RL31867_f2f36ae57865cf002e287dfcdb5deb21ded1340e.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20100920_RL31867_f2f36ae57865cf002e287dfcdb5deb21ded1340e.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc820799/", "id": "RL31867_2009Jan13", "date": "2009-01-13", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Pay Equity Legislation", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20090113_RL31867_843b8f4857f6de8d51d734987d05d3953b02ed4f.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20090113_RL31867_843b8f4857f6de8d51d734987d05d3953b02ed4f.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc817222/", "id": "RL31867_2007May31", "date": "2007-05-31", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Pay Equity Legislation in the 110th Congress", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20070531_RL31867_97b0a41a24d25f79026c2ae5866310bdebf6912e.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20070531_RL31867_97b0a41a24d25f79026c2ae5866310bdebf6912e.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc807773/", "id": "RL31867_2007Jan05", "date": "2007-01-05", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Pay Equity Legislation in the 110th Congress", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20070105_RL31867_1ab00631d09d131a2037a59d2019225453bbb703.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20070105_RL31867_1ab00631d09d131a2037a59d2019225453bbb703.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs8900/", "id": "RL31867 2005-05-11", "date": "2005-05-11", "retrieved": "2006-07-03T14:29:43", "title": "Pay Equity Legislation in the 109th Congress", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20050511_RL31867_ab3a8b1db4128c67b94ef1db168cc3337a3c61ad.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20050511_RL31867_ab3a8b1db4128c67b94ef1db168cc3337a3c61ad.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Labor", "name": "Labor" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Pay equity - Law and legislation", "name": "Pay equity - Law and legislation" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Women", "name": "Women" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs6001/", "id": "RL31867 2004-07-13", "date": "2004-07-13", "retrieved": "2005-06-11T23:04:49", "title": "Pay Equity Legislation in the 108th Congress", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20040713_RL31867_af7da9c5eb07419499ffdf4cf85330b8b0b276ce.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20040713_RL31867_af7da9c5eb07419499ffdf4cf85330b8b0b276ce.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Labor", "name": "Labor" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Pay equity - Law and legislation", "name": "Pay equity - Law and legislation" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Women", "name": "Women" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs5105/", "id": "RL31867 2003-04-17", "date": "2003-04-17", "retrieved": "2005-06-11T23:04:18", "title": "Pay Equity Legislation in the 108th Congress", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20030417_RL31867_8d80814681a671a7d6258cca0ba97a300a293ebc.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20030417_RL31867_8d80814681a671a7d6258cca0ba97a300a293ebc.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Labor", "name": "Labor" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Pay equity - 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