A so-called ‘Paycheck Fairness Act’ introduced in Congress last week would require employers to show pay disparity is related to job-performance and prohibit employer retaliation for sharing salary information with coworkers.
Senator Barbara Mikulski (photo below) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, both liberal Democrats, said their legislation is aimed at closing the supposed pay gap between men and women - an issue that is politically popular, but has been difficult to quantify or prove in the real world.
Mikulski and DeLauro also said their bill would allow women to seek punitive damages for pay discrimination, establish a grant program to strengthen salary negotiation and other workplace skills and require the Department of Labor to enhance outreach and training efforts to eliminate pay disparities.
