Equal Pay, Part Deux—the Obama Administration’s Actions to Address Equal Pay in the Workplace

April 12 was designated by some as National Equal Pay Day, the date in the current year that represents the extra days a typical woman working full-time would have to work just to make the same as a typical man did in the previous year. To commemorate Equal Pay Day, President Obama designated a new national monument: the Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument, which will protect the Washington, D.C. house that has served as the headquarters for the National Woman's Party since 1929.

The Obama Administration's efforts to address the issue of equal pay in the workplace go beyond just designating a national monument. Earlier this year, the EEOC proposed major revisions to its longstanding EEO-1 form to require all employers with 100 or more employees who currently submit the EEO-1 to submit additional summary data on wages paid to their employees, including by gender, race, and ethnicity. As currently proposed, this information would be reported across 10 job categories and by 12 pay bands. According to the EEOC's website, "[t]he pay data will provide EEOC and OFCCP with insight into pay disparities across industries and occupations and strengthen federal efforts to combat discrimination. EEOC and OFCCP will use this data to more effectively focus agency investigations, assess complaints of discrimination, and identify existing pay disparities that may warrant further examination. This data will also help employers evaluate their own pay practices to prevent pay discrimination in their workplaces. EEOC will compile and publish aggregate data that will help employers in conducting their own analysis of their pay practices." In other words, the EEOC and OFCCP plan to gather this additional pay data and use it as evidence against employers in investigations and audits.

The EEOC is currently receiving public comments to the proposed new EEO-1, so it is possible that there may be some changes to the proposed form before it is implemented in 2017. Nevertheless, between now and then, employers would do well to review their current pay practices so that they will be in a strong position to defend against any claims of compensation inequality.