United States Pay Equity for All Act of 2023 (HB 1600)

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The “Pay Equity for All Act of 2023” (H.R. 1600) was introduced to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. The bill seeks to prohibit employers from certain practices related to the salary and benefit history of prospective employees. Specifically, it would make it illegal for employers to:

  1. Use a prospective employee’s wage history to determine eligibility for a position or set wages, except if the employee voluntarily discloses this information after a job offer is made.
  2. Seek wage history information from the prospective employee or their current/former employers, except to confirm information after an offer has been made and only if the prospective employee provides wage history to negotiate a higher salary.
  3. Retaliate against employees or prospective employees for opposing practices prohibited by this section.

Violations of the bill could result in civil penalties, with fines starting at $5,000 for the first offense and increasing by $1,000 for subsequent offenses, capped at $10,000. Employers could also be liable for special damages up to $10,000, plus attorney’s fees, and face potential injunctive relief. Employees or prospective employees could bring lawsuits individually or on behalf of others in similar situations in federal or state courts.

[Update August 2024 – HR 1600 remains as “Introduced”]

Reference Date is April 1, 2023. [Open Source]