AGC-Opposed Paycheck Legislation Stalls in Senate

Last week, the Senate failed to get cloture on S. 2199, the Paycheck Fairness Act.  This bill would have given the government greater control over how a company’s employees are paid by expanding the Equal Pay Act to limit the ability of employers to make pay decisions based on experience, local market rates, education, or other business factors. It would also threaten incentive programs, promote class action law suits, and create unlimited compensatory and punitive damages in Equal Pay Act cases. This bill would apply to all employers with two or more employees. The vote failed 53-44 along party lines, with all Democrats supporting and Republicans opposing (60 votes were needed to advance the legislation). AGC joined over 20 national employer associations in an opposition letter to the legislation. While it remains unlikely the bill would pass, the issue is likely to continue to dominate the debate in Congress and outside of it leading up to the November elections.  In fact, the administration issued an Executive Order and Presidential Memorandum last week applying many of the provisions from the Paycheck Fairness Act on federal contractors. For more information, please contact Jim Young at (202) 547-0133 or youngj@agc.org.