Trump administration has halted Obama-era rule to shrink wage gap

The Trump administration has halted a rule that would have required large companies to report to the government what they pay employees by race and gender — an Obama-era policy aimed to close what economists call the wage gap.

The decision landed Tuesday evening, prompting outrage from groups who note that women and minorities still aren’t receiving equal pay for equal work.

Fatima Goss Graves, president of the National Women’s Law Center, said the move contradicts President Donald Trump’s claim that he wants prosperity for every American.

In a letter sent Tuesday to Victoria Lipnic, acting chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Neomi Rao, administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs said the Office of Management and Budget had paused the government’s pay data collection process to review it.

“OMB is concerned that some aspects of the revised collection of information lack practical utility, are unnecessarily burdensome, and do not adequately address privacy and confidentiality issues,” Ms. Rao wrote, according to documents obtained by the Post.

Russia says email ignored

A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed Wednesday that he had received a request for assistance on a stalled Trump Tower real estate project in Moscow from a close aide to Mr. Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, but said the Kremlin did not respond.

Torn over ‘dreamers’

With a deadline looming, Mr. Trump remains torn over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and the fate of hundreds of thousands of young “dreamer” immigrants who were brought into the country illegally as children.

Phila. sues Sessions

Philadelphia on Wednesday became the latest “sanctuary city” to sue Attorney General Jeff Sessions over what officials say are unconstitutional immigration restrictions placed on a major federal grant.