H.R. 7: Paycheck Fairness Act
Bill · 117th Congress (2021–2022). Passed House, 15 Apr 2021. Introduced 28 Jan 2021.
Official title: To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide more effective remedies to victims of discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis of sex, and for other purposes.
Vote results
- House, 15 Apr 2021: Passed, 217 Yea, 210 Nay, 0 Present, 2 Not voting. The House’s roll call
- President: Not presented to the President.
How each member voted
House
Yea (217): Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD-5); Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-9); Peter A. DeFazio (D-OR-4); Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ-6); Richard E. Neal (D-MA-1); David E. Price (D-NC-4); Jim Cooper (D-TN-5); Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT-3); Maxine Waters (D-CA-43); Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-10); Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA-2); James E. Clyburn (D-SC-6); Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA-18); Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX-30); Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY-12); Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA-40); Bobby L. Rush (D-IL-1); Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA-3); Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY-7); Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS-2); Lloyd Doggett (D-TX-35); Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18); Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-19); Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-3); Danny K. Davis (D-IL-7); Diana DeGette (D-CO-1); Ron Kind (D-WI-3); James P. McGovern (D-MA-2); Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-9); Brad Sherman (D-CA-30); Adam Smith (D-WA-9); Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY-5); Barbara Lee (D-CA-13); John B. Larson (D-CT-1); Grace F. Napolitano (D-CA-32); Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL-9); Mike Thompson (D-CA-5); James R. Langevin (D-RI-2); Rick Larsen (D-WA-2); Betty McCollum (D-MN-4); Adam B. Schiff (D-CA-28); Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA-8); Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ-3); C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD-2); Tim Ryan (D-OH-13); David Scott (D-GA-13); Linda T. Sánchez (D-CA-38); Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO-5); Jim Costa (D-CA-16); Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28); Al Green (D-TX-9); Brian Higgins (D-NY-26); Gwen Moore (D-WI-4); Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-23); Doris O. Matsui (D-CA-6); Albio Sires (D-NJ-8); Kathy Castor (D-FL-14); Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY-9); Steve Cohen (D-TN-9); Joe Courtney (D-CT-2); Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA-4); Jerry McNerney (D-CA-9); Ed Perlmutter (D-CO-7); John P. Sarbanes (D-MD-3); Peter Welch (D-VT-AL); John A. Yarmuth (D-KY-3); André Carson (D-IN-7); Jackie Speier (D-CA-14); Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA-11); James A. Himes (D-CT-4); Chellie Pingree (D-ME-1); Paul Tonko (D-NY-20); Kurt Schrader (D-OR-5); Mike Quigley (D-IL-5); Judy Chu (D-CA-27); John Garamendi (D-CA-3); Bill Foster (D-IL-11); Karen Bass (D-CA-37); David N. Cicilline (D-RI-1); William R. Keating (D-MA-9); Terri A. Sewell (D-AL-7); Frederica S. Wilson (D-FL-24); Dina Titus (D-NV-1); Kweisi Mfume (D-MD-7); Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-1); Suzan K. DelBene (D-WA-1); Donald M. Payne, Jr. (D-NJ-10); Joyce Beatty (D-OH-3); Ami Bera (D-CA-7); Julia Brownley (D-CA-26); Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17); Matt Cartwright (D-PA-8); Joaquin Castro (D-TX-20); Tony Cárdenas (D-CA-29); Lois Frankel (D-FL-21); Hakeem S. Jeffries (D-NY-8); Daniel T. Kildee (D-MI-5); Derek Kilmer (D-WA-6); Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ-2); Ann M. Kuster (D-NH-2); Alan S. Lowenthal (D-CA-47); Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY-18); Grace Meng (D-NY-6); Scott H. Peters (D-CA-52); Mark Pocan (D-WI-2); Raul Ruiz (D-CA-36); Eric Swalwell (D-CA-15); Mark Takano (D-CA-41); Juan Vargas (D-CA-51); Marc A. Veasey (D-TX-33); Robin L. Kelly (D-IL-2); Katherine M. Clark (D-MA-5); Alma S. Adams (D-NC-12); Donald Norcross (D-NJ-1); Pete Aguilar (D-CA-31); Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (D-VA-8); Brendan F. Boyle (D-PA-2); Ed Case (D-HI-1); Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA-11); Debbie Dingell (D-MI-12); Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-7); Brenda L. Lawrence (D-MI-14); Ted Lieu (D-CA-33); Seth Moulton (D-MA-6); Kathleen M. Rice (D-NY-4); Norma J. Torres (D-CA-35); Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12); Bradley Scott Schneider (D-IL-10); Dwight Evans (D-PA-3); Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA-44); Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE-AL); Anthony G. Brown (D-MD-4); Salud O. Carbajal (D-CA-24); J. Luis Correa (D-CA-46); Val Butler Demings (D-FL-10); Adriano Espaillat (D-NY-13); Brian K. Fitzpatrick (R-PA-1); Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX-15); Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-5); Steven Horsford (D-NV-4); Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-7); Ro Khanna (D-CA-17); Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-8); Al Lawson, Jr. (D-FL-5); Stephanie N. Murphy (D-FL-7); Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ-1); Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-20); Jamie Raskin (D-MD-8); Darren Soto (D-FL-9); Thomas R. Suozzi (D-NY-3); Jimmy Gomez (D-CA-34); Conor Lamb (D-PA-17); Joseph D. Morelle (D-NY-25); Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA-5); Susan Wild (D-PA-7); Colin Z. Allred (D-TX-32); Cynthia Axne (D-IA-3); Sean Casten (D-IL-6); Angie Craig (D-MN-2); Jason Crow (D-CO-6); Sharice Davids (D-KS-3); Madeleine Dean (D-PA-4); Veronica Escobar (D-TX-16); Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX-7); Sylvia R. Garcia (D-TX-29); Jesús G. "Chuy" García (D-IL-4); Jared F. Golden (D-ME-2); Josh Harder (D-CA-10); Jahana Hayes (D-CT-5); Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-6); Andy Kim (D-NJ-3); Susie Lee (D-NV-3); Andy Levin (D-MI-9); Mike Levin (D-CA-49); Elaine G. Luria (D-VA-2); Tom Malinowski (D-NJ-7); Lucy McBath (D-GA-6); Joe Neguse (D-CO-2); Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14); Ilhan Omar (D-MN-5); Chris Pappas (D-NH-1); Dean Phillips (D-MN-3); Katie Porter (D-CA-45); Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-7); Kim Schrier (D-WA-8); Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ-11); Elissa Slotkin (D-MI-8); Abigail Davis Spanberger (D-VA-7); Greg Stanton (D-AZ-9); Haley M. Stevens (D-MI-11); Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13); Lori Trahan (D-MA-3); David J. Trone (D-MD-6); Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14); Jennifer Wexton (D-VA-10); Jake Auchincloss (D-MA-4); Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-GA-7); Jamaal Bowman (D-NY-16); Cori Bush (D-MO-1); Sara Jacobs (D-CA-53); Mondaire Jones (D-NY-17); Kaiali’i Kahele (D-HI-2); Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM-3); Kathy E. Manning (D-NC-6); Frank J. Mrvan (D-IN-1); Marie Newman (D-IL-3); Deborah K. Ross (D-NC-2); Marilyn Strickland (D-WA-10); Ritchie Torres (D-NY-15); Nikema Williams (D-GA-5); Michael F. Doyle (D-PA-18); G. K. Butterfield (D-NC-1); Theodore E. Deutch (D-FL-22); Filemon Vela (D-TX-34); A. Donald McEachin (D-VA-4); Charlie Crist (D-FL-13); Antonio Delgado (D-NY-19).
Nay (210): Harold Rogers (R-KY-5); Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ-4); Fred Upton (R-MI-6); Ken Calvert (R-CA-42); Frank D. Lucas (R-OK-3); Steve Chabot (R-OH-1); Robert B. Aderholt (R-AL-4); Kevin Brady (R-TX-8); Kay Granger (R-TX-12); Michael K. Simpson (R-ID-2); Pete Sessions (R-TX-17); Sam Graves (R-MO-6); Joe Wilson (R-SC-2); Michael C. Burgess (R-TX-26); John R. Carter (R-TX-31); Tom Cole (R-OK-4); Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL-25); Mike Rogers (R-AL-3); Michael R. Turner (R-OH-10); Darrell Issa (R-CA-50); Virginia Foxx (R-NC-5); Louie Gohmert (R-TX-1); Michael T. McCaul (R-TX-10); Patrick T. McHenry (R-NC-10); Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-5); Gus M. Bilirakis (R-FL-12); Vern Buchanan (R-FL-16); Jim Jordan (R-OH-4); Doug Lamborn (R-CO-5); Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-23); Adrian Smith (R-NE-3); Robert E. Latta (R-OH-5); Robert J. Wittman (R-VA-1); Steve Scalise (R-LA-1); Tim Walberg (R-MI-7); Brett Guthrie (R-KY-2); Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO-3); Tom McClintock (R-CA-4); Bill Posey (R-FL-8); Glenn Thompson (R-PA-15); Mo Brooks (R-AL-5); Larry Bucshon (R-IN-8); Eric A. "Rick" Crawford (R-AR-1); Scott DesJarlais (R-TN-4); Jeff Duncan (R-SC-3); Charles J. "Chuck" Fleischmann (R-TN-3); Bob Gibbs (R-OH-7); Paul A. Gosar (R-AZ-4); H. Morgan Griffith (R-VA-9); Andy Harris (R-MD-1); Vicky Hartzler (R-MO-4); Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA-3); Bill Huizenga (R-MI-2); Bill Johnson (R-OH-6); Mike Kelly (R-PA-16); Adam Kinzinger (R-IL-16); Billy Long (R-MO-7); David B. McKinley (R-WV-1); Steven M. Palazzo (R-MS-4); David Schweikert (R-AZ-6); Austin Scott (R-GA-8); Daniel Webster (R-FL-11); Steve Womack (R-AR-3); Mark E. Amodei (R-NV-2); Thomas Massie (R-KY-4); Andy Barr (R-KY-6); Rodney Davis (R-IL-13); Richard Hudson (R-NC-8); David P. Joyce (R-OH-14); Doug LaMalfa (R-CA-1); Markwayne Mullin (R-OK-2); Scott Perry (R-PA-10); Tom Rice (R-SC-7); Chris Stewart (R-UT-2); Ann Wagner (R-MO-2); Randy K. Weber, Sr. (R-TX-14); Brad R. Wenstrup (R-OH-2); Roger Williams (R-TX-25); Jason Smith (R-MO-8); Rick W. Allen (R-GA-12); Brian Babin (R-TX-36); Mike Bost (R-IL-12); Ken Buck (R-CO-4); Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (R-GA-1); Tom Emmer (R-MN-6); Garret Graves (R-LA-6); Glenn Grothman (R-WI-6); Jody B. Hice (R-GA-10); J. French Hill (R-AR-2); John Katko (R-NY-24); Barry Loudermilk (R-GA-11); John R. Moolenaar (R-MI-4); Alexander X. Mooney (R-WV-2); Dan Newhouse (R-WA-4); Gary J. Palmer (R-AL-6); David Rouzer (R-NC-7); Elise M. Stefanik (R-NY-21); Bruce Westerman (R-AR-4); Lee M. Zeldin (R-NY-1); David G. Valadao (R-CA-21); Trent Kelly (R-MS-1); Darin LaHood (R-IL-18); Warren Davidson (R-OH-8); James Comer (R-KY-1); Jodey C. Arrington (R-TX-19); Don Bacon (R-NE-2); Jim Banks (R-IN-3); Jack Bergman (R-MI-1); Andy Biggs (R-AZ-5); Ted Budd (R-NC-13); Liz Cheney (R-WY-AL); Neal P. Dunn (R-FL-2); A. Drew Ferguson IV (R-GA-3); Matt Gaetz (R-FL-1); Mike Gallagher (R-WI-8); Clay Higgins (R-LA-3); Trey Hollingsworth (R-IN-9); Mike Johnson (R-LA-4); David Kustoff (R-TN-8); Brian J. Mast (R-FL-18); John H. Rutherford (R-FL-4); Lloyd Smucker (R-PA-11); Ron Estes (R-KS-4); Ralph Norman (R-SC-5); John R. Curtis (R-UT-3); Debbie Lesko (R-AZ-8); Michael Cloud (R-TX-27); Troy Balderson (R-OH-12); Kevin Hern (R-OK-1); Kelly Armstrong (R-ND-AL); James R. Baird (R-IN-4); Tim Burchett (R-TN-2); Ben Cline (R-VA-6); Dan Crenshaw (R-TX-2); Russ Fulcher (R-ID-1); Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH-16); Lance Gooden (R-TX-5); Mark E. Green (R-TN-7); Michael Guest (R-MS-3); Dusty Johnson (R-SD-AL); John Joyce (R-PA-13); Daniel Meuser (R-PA-9); Carol D. Miller (R-WV-3); Greg Pence (R-IN-6); Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA-14); John W. Rose (R-TN-6); Chip Roy (R-TX-21); Pete Stauber (R-MN-8); Bryan Steil (R-WI-1); W. Gregory Steube (R-FL-17); Van Taylor (R-TX-3); William R. Timmons IV (R-SC-4); Jefferson Van Drew (R-NJ-2); Michael Waltz (R-FL-6); Claudia Tenney (R-NY-22); Fred Keller (R-PA-12); Dan Bishop (R-NC-9); Gregory F. Murphy (R-NC-3); Mike Garcia (R-CA-25); Thomas P. Tiffany (R-WI-7); Chris Jacobs (R-NY-27); Cliff Bentz (R-OR-2); Stephanie I. Bice (R-OK-5); Lauren Boebert (R-CO-3); Kat Cammack (R-FL-3); Jerry L. Carl (R-AL-1); Andrew S. Clyde (R-GA-9); Byron Donalds (R-FL-19); Pat Fallon (R-TX-4); Randy Feenstra (R-IA-4); Michelle Fischbach (R-MN-7); Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI-5); Scott Franklin (R-FL-15); Andrew R. Garbarino (R-NY-2); Carlos A. Gimenez (R-FL-26); Tony Gonzales (R-TX-23); Bob Good (R-VA-5); Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA-14); Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-1); Yvette Herrell (R-NM-2); Ashley Hinson (R-IA-1); Ronny Jackson (R-TX-13); Young Kim (R-CA-39); Jake LaTurner (R-KS-2); Nancy Mace (R-SC-1); Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY-11); Tracey Mann (R-KS-1); Lisa C. McClain (R-MI-10); Peter Meijer (R-MI-3); Mary E. Miller (R-IL-15); Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA-2); Barry Moore (R-AL-2); Blake D. Moore (R-UT-1); Troy E. Nehls (R-TX-22); Jay Obernolte (R-CA-8); Burgess Owens (R-UT-4); August Pfluger (R-TX-11); Matthew M. Rosendale, Sr. (R-MT-AL); Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL-27); Victoria Spartz (R-IN-5); Michelle Steel (R-CA-48); Beth Van Duyne (R-TX-24); Julia Letlow (R-LA-5); Don Young (R-AK-AL); Devin Nunes (R-CA-22); Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE-1); Tom Reed (R-NY-23); Steve Stivers (R-OH-15); Jackie Walorski (R-IN-2); Jim Hagedorn (R-MN-1).
Not voting (2): Jared Huffman (D-CA-2); Madison Cawthorn (R-NC-11).
Speaker, not listed (1): Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12).
Not in office (19): Troy A. Carter (D-LA-2); Melanie A. Stansbury (D-NM-1); Jake Ellzey (R-TX-6); Shontel M. Brown (D-OH-11); Mike Carey (R-OH-15); Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL-20); Connie Conway (R-CA-22); Mayra Flores (R-TX-34); Mike Flood (R-NE-1); Brad Finstad (R-MN-1); Mary Sattler Peltola (D-AK-AL); Patrick Ryan (D-NY-19); Joseph Sempolinski (R-NY-23); Rudy Yakym III (R-IN-2); Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL-20); Marcia L. Fudge (D-OH-11); Cedric L. Richmond (D-LA-2); Debra A. Haaland (D-NM-1); Ron Wright (R-TX-6).
Summary
Main subject: Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to change the equal pay requirements and the remedies for sex-based wage discrimination, and adds related pay data collection, wage history limits, training, research and enforcement coordination. Sec. 2, Sec. 7, Sec. 9
Its core areas: Equal pay defenses and the same-establishment standard under the Fair Labor Standards Act; Retaliation and wage disclosure protections; Damages and class actions for equal pay violations; EEOC collection of pay data by sex, race, and national origin; Limits on employers' use of prospective employees' wage history; Negotiation skills training and pay equity research; Enforcement coordination among federal agencies.
Unexpected Items: 3 provisions
These provisions fall outside the bill’s main subject or apply narrowly. This describes the text; it is not a judgment.
Not related to the bill’s main subject (1)
- Sec. 14: Rule of construction: States that the Act and its amendments do not affect the obligation of employers and employees to comply with applicable immigration laws, including penalties, fines, or other sanctions.
Exception or delay for a subset (2)
- Sec. 12: Small business assistance: Exempts a small enterprise from the Act and its amendments to the same extent it is exempt from Fair Labor Standards Act requirements under section 3(s)(1)(A)(i) and (ii).
- Sec. 2: Enhanced enforcement of equal pay requirements: Within the wage-disclosure protection, it makes an exception for employees whose essential job functions give them access to other employees' wage information, who disclose those wages to people without access, unless the disclosure responds to a complaint or furthers an investigation or action.
What it does
- Sec. 2: Limits the pay-differential defense in section 6(d)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act to a bona fide factor other than sex, and requires the employer to demonstrate the factor is job-related, consistent with business necessity, and accounts for the entire differential.
- Sec. 2: Makes it unlawful to retaliate against an employee for inquiring about, discussing, or disclosing wages, and to require an employee to sign a contract or waiver prohibiting disclosure of the employee's wage information.
- Sec. 2: Makes an employer that violates section 6(d) liable for compensatory damages, and for punitive damages where the employee demonstrates malice or reckless indifference, and allows actions to enforce section 6(d) to be maintained as class actions.
- Sec. 7: Requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, within 24 months of enactment, to provide for annual collection of compensation data disaggregated by sex, race, and national origin from private employers with 100 or more employees and others it determines appropriate.
- Sec. 9: Makes it an unlawful practice for an employer to rely on or seek a prospective employee's wage history, with stated exceptions, and sets a civil penalty of $5,000 for a first offense, increased by $1,000 for each subsequent offense, not to exceed $10,000.
- Sec. 4: Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a program of contracts and grants to train employers on how salary negotiation can allow bias in compensation, and authorizes competitive grants for negotiation skills training to address pay disparities.
Written automatically from the official text by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model. Written 15 Oct 2026 and published after the automatic checks, without a person reading it first. Every line names the section it came from.