“The time has well passed to end gender and race discrimination in setting wages,” said Congressman Langevin.  “The Paycheck Fairness Act is a responsible safeguard to ensure that all Americans earn their salaries based upon their performance and ability, rather than other factors.  No American should be paid less, or receive special treatment, based upon gender, race or religious beliefs.”

The Paycheck Fairness Act would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide additional options to victims of wage discrimination based upon gender.  Specifically, the bill sets gender-based wage discrimination on the same legal footing as race-based or ethnicity-based wage discrimination.  The legislation also strengthens current law to permit women to collect punitive damages from employers if they were victim to unfair compensation practices, based upon gender.

-30-