Paycheck fairness stalls again while states move forward on pay equity

On June 8, Senate Republicans blocked the Paycheck Fairness Act from advancing to the Senate floor for consideration. The bill, which was aimed at closing the gender pay gap, needed 60 votes to move forward, but it was voted down 49-50, with all but one Republican senator opposing the legislation. The bill passed the House of Representatives in April, but its failure to advance in the Senate was expected, as Republican lawmakers had publicly opposed the bill.

The legislation sought to amend the Equal Pay Act by significantly narrowing employers' primary defense to pay discrimination claims—that an identified pay disparity is the result of a factor "other than sex." If passed, the bill would have required employers to prove that any disparity was due to "a bona fide factor other than sex, such as education, training, or experience."

The Paycheck Fairness Act also would have instituted a national pay transparency requirement and a nationwide ban on requests for applicants' prior salary history. Republican lawmakers opposing the legislation argued it would essentially eliminate an employer's ability to differentiate employees' pay based on skills, qualifications, or experience without being subjected to litigation.

State pay laws fill the gap

On May 27, former female employees of Google won their bid for class action status in a gender pay discrimination lawsuit against the tech giant brought on behalf of nearly 11,000 women. The lawsuit, which was filed in California state court in San Francisco, alleges Google pays women less than men who do the same jobs in violation of California's Equal Pay Act.