Rulewould require reports on pay gap
Obama policy proposes American companies disclose employee wages based on gender, race
WASHINGTON » President Barack Obama proposed a rule Friday that would require every large company inAmerica to report employees’ pay based on race and gender, an effort to reduce longstanding pay inequities for women and minorities.
The new policy, already drawing criticism from some business leaders, would order companies with at least 100 employees to add salary numbers on a form they already submit annually that reports employees’ gender, age and job groups.
The pay information would alert the EEOC to companies with significant wage disparities, which could result in hefty fines.
“Oftentimes, folks are doing the samejob and being paid differently,” Obamasaid in a speech at the White House. “The goal is to help businesses who are trying to do the right thing get a clearer picture of howthey can ensure their employees are being treated fairly.”
During the updated data collection
process, officials would not name employers or employees publicly, said Jenny Yang, chairwoman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which published the proposed rule with the Department of Labor.
If the agency files a discrimination lawsuit as a result of the findings, however, companies would appear in public record.
For instance, if a firm’s data show typical female managers earn 25 percent less than typical male managers, the government might launch an investiga- tion — and, lawyers say, workerswho take discrimination complaints to the EEOC would have extra ammunition if company numbers supported their case.
Since the White House established its Equal Pay Task Force in 2010, Yang added, the agency has collected from firms more than $ 85 million in employeerelief checks.
The EEOC also intends to turn the aggregated data into an annual salary report, showing the average pay for workers in different sectors and industries across the country, starting next year.
The proposal expands onObama’s 2014 executive order that required all federal contractors to submit similar salary data by gender and race.
The measure also abolished gag rules that prevented those contractors from discussing their pay.
Detractors say the policy changewould create an unnecessary government overreach. Roughly 67,000 employers would have to take on the extra paperwork.
Randy Johnson, senior vice president of Labor, Immigration, andEmployee Benefits for the U. S. Chamber, said that, although the organization supports equal pay for equal work, the new rule would place an unnecessary burden on employers while providing no “meaningful insight.”