The issue of pay equity has been one of the highest-profile employment policy issues in recent years. In addition to priority enforcement of alleged pay discrimination by agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), pay equity advocates continue to push in a number of different forums for changes to current laws designed to narrow the gender wage gap.
These legislative efforts have been concentrated primarily at the state and local level. Although former President Obama was a strong supporter of legislative change, the Republican Congress never gave serious consideration to the proposals the president endorsed. Thus, as of today, two federal laws that were enacted decades ago — Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act (Title VII) and the 1963 Equal Pay Act (EPA) — continue to set the rules for nondiscriminatory pay practices.
Recently, however, with public declarations in support of pay equity by both President Trump and his daughter Ivanka, who serves as assistant to the president, speculation has increased that the Trump White House may take its own approach to strengthen or otherwise address pay equity laws, although no details have been released to date.
To that end, NT Lakis staff has prepared a guide to the pending major federal legislation related to pay equity and compensation discrimination.
Members of the Equal Employment Advisory Council (EEAC) can read more here.