DeLauro Denounces Trump Administration Signaling End to Equal Pay Data Collection

WASHINGTON, DC (September 11, 2019) —Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) today released the following statement denouncing the Trump Administration's announcement that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that it will stop collecting future equal pay data from employers that helps shed light on pay discrimination.

"It is outrageous that the Trump Administration is trying to stop collecting critical equal pay data from large companies through the EEO-1 form. As we have seen from the Senate's continued inaction on the House-passed Paycheck Fairness Act, Trump officials are completely uninterested in addressing pay gaps that leave women and people of color behind economically. Equal pay data collection is a critical tool that allows the EEOC to identify pay discrimination and encourage companies to correct pay disparities. Our federal agencies need to actively engage and crack down on bad actors, not stand on the sidelines while women and people of color get paid less for the same work. The Trump Administration should reverse this short-sighted decision, and Congress should immediately investigate why this Administration continues to undermine equal pay initiatives at the expense of working people."

Earlier this year, the House of Representatives passed the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill to ensure women and men in the same job get the same pay. The Paycheck Fairness Act would strengthen and close loopholes in the Equal Pay Act of 1963 by holding employers accountable for discriminatory practices, ending the practice of pay secrecy, easing workers' ability to individually or jointly challenge pay discrimination, and strengthening the available remedies for wronged employees.