Newhouse Supports Equal Pay for Women, Votes Against Democrats’ Attack on Small Business

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) released the following statement after voting against H.R. 7, a bill that would unfairly punish business owners and reward trial lawyers rather than workers.

"Women deserve equal pay for equal work. That is why I cosponsored Rep. Elise Stefanik's Wage Equity Act, legislation that encourages employers to proactively evaluate their pay practices and eliminate pay disparities in their workplaces, while empowering employees to negotiate pay based on their qualifications and merit," said Rep. Newhouse. "Democrats should stop virtue signaling. If they truly wanted to support women and effect change, they would support Rep. Stefanik's bill."

Background:

The Wage Equity Act would empower women in the 21^st-century workplace by:

• Strengthening the Equal Pay Act to ensure differences in pay must be based on legitimate business reasons
• Encouraging businesses to undergo a voluntary pay analysis to proactively rectify disparities
• Authorizing a grant program to educate women in college, career, and technical programs on negotiating pay
• Allowing employees to voluntarily disclose prior salary history
• Protecting the ability of employees to discuss compensation with their colleagues, but gives employers the right to set reasonable limitations on time, location, and manner of those discussions
• Protecting employers' ability to have a salary expectation conversation with prospective employees
• Instructing the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study on the causes and impacts of the "managers gap" (the time when many women leave the workforce for parental/family reasons)

In contrast, H.R. 7 empowers trial lawyers over employees and employers and intrudes on America's businesses by:

• Establishing an unworkable standard for employers to defend against lawsuits when a pay disparity is based on legitimate factors other than sex
• Requiring the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to collect intrusive data on employees based on compensation rates, sex, race, and national origin
• This action would cost an estimated $600 million for employers each year
• Expanding class action lawsuits and requiring parties who do not wish to pursue a claim to affirmatively opt-out of one
• Opening claims to unlimited compensatory or punitive damages, even if there is no finding of intentional discrimination

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