Norton Bill to Prohibit Employers from Asking Salary History on House Floor Next Week

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), the first woman to chair the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), today announced that Norton's Pay Equity for All Act, which prohibits employers from asking job applicants about their salary history, will be considered on the House floor next week as part of H.R. 7, the Paycheck Fairness Act. Norton considers her bill and H.R. 7 unique opportunities to continue the work she led at the EEOC and help improve the Equal Pay Act, which she enforced.

"With Democrats in control of the House, we are ready to follow through on our decades-long effort to close the gender wage gap and pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, a much-needed update to strengthen the Equal Pay Act," Norton said. "I am particularly pleased that the Paycheck Fairness Act contains my bill to prohibit employers from asking job applicants their salary history, which often disadvantages women and minorities, who disproportionately carry lower salaries through their entire careers simply because wages at that first job were set unfairly, often because of race or sex. I thank Representative Rosa DeLauro for championing this legislation and look forward to working with her to ensure it is enacted."

Among many provisions, the Paycheck Fairness Act removes obstacles in the Equal Pay Act to facilitate a complainant's participation in class action lawsuits challenging systemic pay discrimination, improves the U.S. Department of Labor's ability to enforce the Equal Pay Act, and directs the EEOC to survey wage information to help with analysis and enforcement.