Norton Bill to Prohibit Employers from Asking Salary History Passes House

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced that Norton's Pay Equity for All Act, which prohibits employers from asking job applicants about their salary history, passed the House of Representatives yesterday as part of H.R. 7, the Paycheck Fairness Act, authored by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). Norton, the first woman to chair the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), considers her bill and H.R. 7 important opportunities to continue the work she led at the EEOC, including improving the Equal Pay Act, which she enforced. The Pay Equity for All Act is the third Norton bill passed by the House this Congress. The Center for Effective Lawmaking ranked Norton the most effective House Democrat last Congress.

"Democrats have delivered another victory to strengthen the Equal Pay Act for American workers who receive unfair pay," Norton said. "The Paycheck Fairness Act includes my Pay Equity for All Act, which bars employers from asking job applicants their salary history. This single question often disadvantages women and minorities, whose disproportionately lower salaries in their first job carry through their entire careers simply because wages at their first job were set unfairly because of their race or sex."

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.