H.R. 1338: "Paycheck Fairness Act" -- Not fair, fewer paychecks

Dear Member of the U.S. House of Representatives:

We wish we could say that H.R. 1338, the "Paycheck Fairness Act," lives up to its name - it does not.  Passage of H.R. 1338 into law would only benefit the paychecks of our nation's trial lawyers.

Make no mistake, the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) strongly opposes discrimination in any form.  There are already effective tools and legal remedies for workers who feel they have been discriminated against with respect to their compensation.

H.R. 1338 would only add to our hyper-litigious environment by changing the Equal Pay Act (EPA) by making it easier to file class action lawsuits against employers. The rules of the game would work against these firms as H.R. 1338 would make it more difficult to carry out a defense in justifying legitimate pay differences.

Unlimited punitive and compensatory damages for violations of the EPA would also be allowed.  That means on top of correcting improper wage differentials, H.R. 1338 would impose unlimited punitive damages for conduct that may have been unintentional.

Finally, H.R. 1338 requires the U.S. Department of Labor to return to bad statistical models and surveying methods in enforcing civil rights laws among federal contractors.        

H.R. 1338 is not about equal pay.  It would hurt employers - particularly small business owners, and their workforce - who would be financially smothered by such litigation, and the inequitable playing field the legislation creates.

SBE Council strongly urges you to vote against H.R. 1338.

Sincerely,

Karen Kerrigan, President & CEO