Press Releases

Rep. Don Beyer today voted for H.R. 7, the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation introduced by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) to the persistent wage gap between women and men. The bill would require employers to account for pay disparities, ban retaliation against workers who discuss wage levels, enhance workers’ abilities to join lawsuits challenging pay discrimination, and improve Labor Department tools for enforcing the Equal Pay Act. The final bill passed with bipartisan support.

“Today the House took a big step forward on equal pay for women,” said Rep. Beyer. “This historic legislation to reduce the wage gap and increase fairness in the workplace is long overdue. The Paycheck Fairness Act will help American women and the millions of families which depend on them, and I’m so proud to have helped pass it.”

Rep. Beyer previously testified in the House Committee on Education and Labor’s hearing on the Paycheck Fairness Act, and was an original cosponsor of the bill. The final passage included an amendment which was offered by Rep. Beyer and adopted with overwhelming support from both parties to require businesses with 100 or more employees to report compensation data and demographic information for each 12 month period.

Representative Beyer hosts an annual women’s conference in his district focused on women’s empowerment and professional development, featuring advice for women in the workplace from successful businesswomen. He joined with Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) to hold a gender parity forum in 2017, and worked with her to introduce the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act and the Gender Diversity in Corporate Leadership Act.