EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK FOR WOMEN WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 1950 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SPECIAL SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR, Washington, D. C. The special subcommittee met at 10 a. m., Hon. Thomas H. Burke, presiding. Mr. BURKE. The hearing will come to order. This is the subcommittee for the consideration of H. R. 1584 and H. R. 2438, which I understand are identical in character and are as follows: [H. R. 1584, 81st Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL Providing equal pay for equal work for women, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, PURPOSE AND TITLE OF ACT SECTION 1. (a) The Congress hereby finds that the existence in industry of wage differentials based on sex is an inequity in compensation standards which constitutes an unfair wage practice and (1) leads to labor disputes; (2) depresses wages and living standards of employees, male and female; (3) interferes with and prevents the maintenance of an adequate standard of living by such workers and the families dependent on them for support, and in particular has serious detrimental effects on the standard of living of families of deceased or disabled veterans; (4) prevents the maximum utilization of our available labor resources and plant capacity essential for full production; (5) endangers the national security and the general welfare, and thereby burdens, affects, and obstructs commerce. It is hereby declared to be the policy of this Act, through the exercise by Congress of its power to regulate commerce among the several States, to correct and, as rapidly as possible, to eliminate discriminatory wage practices against women based on sex. (b) This Act may be cited as the "Women's Equal Pay Act of 1949". PROHIBITION OF WAGE RATE DIFFERENTIAL BASED ON SEX SEC. 2. It shall be an unfair wage practice for any employer (a) To discriminate in the payment of wages between the sexes by paying wages to any female employee at a rate less than the rate at which he pays wages to male employees for work of comparable character on jobs the performance of which requires comparable skills, except where such payment is made pursuant to a seniority or merit increase system which does not discriminate on the basis of sex; or (b) To lay off or discharge or in any other manner discriminate against any employee because such employee has filed any charges or instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or related to this Act, or has testified or is about to testify in any such proceeding. ADMINISTRATION (a) The Secretary of Labor may, subject to the civil-service laws, appoint such employees as he deems necessary in order to carry out his functions under this Act, and shall fix their compensation in accordance with the Classification Act of 1923, as amended. 1 The Secretary may utilize the service of Federal, State, and local agencies and may establish and utilize such regional, local, or other agencies, and utilize such voluntary and uncompensated services, as may from time to time be needed. The Solicitor of the Department of Labor may appear for and represent the Secretary in any litigation, but all such litigation shall be subject to the direction and control of the Attorney General. (b) The Secretary shall have authority to make such expenditures (including expenditures for personal services and rent at the seat of government and elsewhere, for lawbooks and books of reference, and for paper, printing, and binding) as he may deem necessary for the administration and enforcement of this Act. (c) The Secretary of Labor shall have authority from time to time to make, amend, and rescind such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act and to issue rulings, interpretations, and bulletins relative to the scope, meaning, and application of this Act which shall be entitled to recognition as being prima facie valid in judical proceedings hereunder. (d) The Secretary shall submit annually a report to the Congress covering his activities for the preceding year, including such information, data, and recommendations for further legislation in connection with the matters covered by this Act as he may find advisable. INVESTIGATORY POWERS SEC. 4. For the purpose of all hearings, surveys, inspections, and investigations, which, in the opinion of the Secretary, are necessary and proper for the exercise of the powers vested in him by this Act (a) The Secretary or his duly authorized agent shall at all reasonable times have access to, for the purpose of examination, and the right to copy any evidence of any person being investigated or proceeded against that relates to any matter under investigation or in question, and shall have power to issue subpenas requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of any evidence that relates to any matter under investigation or in question, before the Secretary or his duly authorized agent conducting the hearing or investigation. The Secretary or any agent or agency designated by him for such purposes may administer oaths and affirmations, examine witnesses, and receive evidence. Such attendance of witnesses and the production of such evidence may be required from any place in the United States or any Territory or possession thereof, at any designated place of hearing. (b) In case of contumacy or refusal to obey a subpena issued to any person, any district court of the United States or the United States courts of any Territory or possession or the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, within the jurisdiction of which the inquiry is carried on or within the jurisdiction of which said person guilty of contumacy or refusal to obey is found or resides or transacts business, upon application by the Secretary shall have jurisdiction to issue to such person an order requiring such person to appear before the Secretary or his duly authorized agent, there to produce evidence if so ordered, or there to give testimony touching the matter under investigation or in question; and any failure to obey such order of the court may be punished by said court as a contempt thereof. (c) No person shall be excused from attending and testifying or from producing books, records, correspondence, documents, or other evidence in obedience to the subpena of the Secretary, on the ground that the testimony or evidence required of him may tend to incriminate him or subject him to a penalty or forfeiture; but no individual shall be prosecuted or subjected to any penalty or forfeiture for or on account of any transaction, matter, or thing concerning which he is compelled, after having claimed his privilege against self-incrimination, to testify or produce evidence, except that such individual so testifying shall not be exempt from prosecution and punishment for prejury committed in so testifying. (d) Complaints, orders, and other process and papers of the Secretary or his duly authorized agent may be served either personally or by registered mail or by telegraph or by leaving a copy thereof at the principal office or place of business of the person required to be served. The verified return by the individual so serving the same setting forth the manner of such service shall be proof of the same, and the return post-office receipt or telegraph receipt therefor when registered and mailed or telegraphed as aforesaid shall be proof of service of the same. Witnesses summoned before the Secretary or his duly authorized agent shall be paid the same fees and mileage that are paid witnesses in the courts of the United States, and witnesses whose depositions are taken and the persons taking the same shall severally be entitled to the same fees as are paid for like services in the courts of the United States. (e) All process of any court to which application may be made under this Act may be served in the judicial district wherein the defendant or other person required to be served resides or may be found. (f) The several departments and agencies of the Government, when directed by the President, shall furnish the Secretary, upon his request, all records, papers, and information in their possession relating to any matter before the Secretary. RECORDS AND REPORTING SEC. 5. Every employer subject to this Act or to any order issued under this Act shall make, keep, and preserve such records of the persons employed by him and of the wages and wage rates thereof, job classifications, and other terms and conditions of employment maintained by him, and shall preserve such records for such periods of time, and shall make such reports therefrom as the Secretary shall prescribe by regulation or order as necessary or appropriate for the enforcement of the provisions of this Act or the regulations or orders issued thereunder. ENFORCEMENT SEC. 6. (a) The Secretary is empowered as hereinafter provided to prevent any person from engaging in any unfair wage practice affecting commerce as provided in this Act or any order issued thereunder. This power shall be exclusive and shall not be affected by any other means of adjustment or prevention that has been or may be established by agreement, code, law or otherwise. (b) The Secretary, or his duly authorized agent, on his own motion or a charge to that effect, shall have power to issue and cause to be served upon any employer a complaint stating that the employer has engaged in or is engaging in an unfair wage practice in violation of this Act or any order issued thereunder, and containing a notice of hearing before the Secretary or before a designated agent, at a place therein fixed, not less than ten days after the serving of said complaint. Any such complaint may be amended by the issuing officer or the designated agent conducting the hearing at any time prior to the issuance of a final order based thereon. An employer upon whom such complaint has been served shall have the right to file an answer to the original or amended complaint and to appear in person or otherwise and give testimony at the time and place fixed in the complaint. In the discretion of the issuing officer or the designated agent conducting the hearing, any other person or organization having a substantial interest may be allowed to intervene in the said proceeding and to present testimony. In any such proceeding the rules of evidence prevailing in courts of law or equity shall not be controlling. (c) If, upon all the testimony taken, the Secretary shall be of the opinion that any person named in the complaint has engaged in or is engaging in an unfair wage practice in violation of this Act or any order issued thereunder, he shall state his findings of fact and shall issue and cause to be served on such person an order requiring such person to cease and desist from such violation and take such affirmative action, including reinstatement of employees with or without payment of back pay, as will effectuate the purpose of this Act. Such order may further require such person to make reports from time to time showing the extent to which he has complied with the order. If, upon all the testimony taken, the Secretary shall be of the opinion that the person named in the complaint has not engaged and is not engaging in such an unfair wage practice, he shall state his findings of fact and shall issue an order dismissing the said complaint as to him. (d) The Secretary shall have power to petition any circuit court of appeals (including the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia) or, if all the circuit courts of appeals to which application might be made are in vacation, any district court of the United States (including the United States District Court for the District of Columbia), within any circuit or district, respectively, wherein the unfair wage practice in question occurred, or wherein the person in violation resides or transacts business, for the enforcement of such order and for appropriate temporary relief or restraining order, and shall certify and file in the court to which petition is made a transcript of the entire record in the proceeding, including the pleadings and testimony upon which such order was entered and the findings and the order of the Secretary. Upon such filing, the court shall cause notice thereof to be served upon such person, and thereupon shall have jurisdiction of the proceeding and of the question determined therein, and shall have power to grant such temporary relief or restrain ing order as it deems just and proper, and to make and enter upon the pleadings, testimony, and proceedings set forth in such transcript a decree enforcing, modifying, and enforcing as so modified, or setting aside in whole or in part the order of the Secretary. No objection that has not been urged before the Secretary or his duly authorized agent shall be considered by the court, unless the failure or neglect shall be excused because of extraordinary circumstances. The findings of the Secretary as to the facts, if supported by substantial evidence, shall be conclusive. If either party shall apply to the court for leave to adduce additional evidence and shall show to the satisfaction of the court that such evidence is material and that there were reasonable grounds for failure to adduce such evidence in the hearing before the Secretary or his duly authorized agent, the court may order such additional evidence to be taken before the Secretary or his duly authorized agent, and to be made a part of the transcript. The Secretary may modify his findings as to the facts, or make new findings, by reason of additional evidence so taken and filed, and he shall file such modified or new findings, which, if supported by substantial evidence, shall be conclusive, and shall file his recommendations, if any, for the modification or setting aside of his original order. The jurisdiction of the court shall be exclusive and its judgment and decree shall be final, except that the same shall be subject to review by the appropriate circuit court of appeals if application was made to the district court as hereinabove provided, and by the Supreme Court of the United States upon writ of certiorari or certification as provided in sections 239 and 240 of the Judicial Code, as amended (U. S. C., title 28, secs. 346 and 347). (e) Any person aggrieved by a final order of the Secretary granting or denying in whole or in part the relief sought may obtain a review of such order in any circuit court of appeals in the United States in the circuit wherein the unfair wage practice in question was alleged to have been engaged in or wherein such person resides or transacts business, or in the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia, by filing in such court a written petition praying that the order of the Secretary be modified or set aside. A copy of such petition shall be forthwith served upon the Secretary, and thereupon the aggrieved party shall file in the court a transcript of the entire record in the proceeding, certified by the Secretary, including the pleading and testimony upon which the order complained of was entered and the findings and order of the Secretary. Upon such filing, the court shall proceed in the same manner as in the case of an application by the Secretary under subsection (d), and shall have the same exclusive jurisdiction to grant to the Secretary such temporary relief or restraining order as it deems just and proper, and in like manner to make and enter a decree enforcing, modifying and enforcing as so modified, or setting aside in whole or in part the order of the Secretary; and the findings of the Secretary as to the facts, if supported by substantial evidence, shall in like manner be conclusive. (f) The commencement of proceedings under subsection (d) or (e) of this section shall not, unless specifically ordered by the court, operate as a stay of the Secretary's order. The court shall not grant any stay of the order unless the person complaining of such order shall file in court an undertaking with a surety or sureties satisfactory to the court for the payment to the employees affected by the order, in the event such order is affirmed, of the amount by which the compensation such employees are entitled to receive under the order exceeds the compensation they actually receive while such stay is in effect. CRIMINAL PENALTIES SEC. 7. Any person who shall (a) willfully resist, prevent, impede, or interfere with any officer, employee, or agent of the Department of Labor in the performance of his duties prescribed by this Act or (b) willfully violate section 5 thereof, or who shall make any statement, report, or record filed or kept pursuant to the provisions of such section or of any regulation or order thereunder knowing such statement, report, or record to be false in any material respect, shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine of not more than $5,000 or to imprisonment for not more than one year, or both. GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS SEC. 8. Unless the Secretary shall otherwise determine and permit in an order issued by him, no contract shall be awarded by the United States or any agency thereof to any person found to have violated any of the provisions of this Act or to any firm, corporation, partnership, or association in which such person has a controlling interest, until three years have elapsed from the date when it is determined that such violation has occurred. The Comptroller General is authorized and directed to distribute a list to all agencies of the United States containing the names of such persons. SEC. 9. When used in this Act DEFINITIONS (a) The term "person" includes one or more individuals, partnerships, associations, corporations, legal representatives, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, or receivers. (b) The term "employer" includes any person acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to eight or more employees, but shall not include the United States, or any State or political subdivision thereof, and shall not include any labor organization, except when acting in the capacity of employer. (c) The term "employee" includes any individual employed by an employer. (d) The term "wages" means all remuneration for the performance of service for an employer by an employee whether paid by the employer or another, including the cash value of all remuneration paid therefor in any medium other than cash. (e) The term "wage rate" means the basis of remuneration for the performance of services by an employee for an employer and includes time, piece, commission or any other basis of remuneration. (f) The term "unfair wage practice" means a practice in violation of the provisions of section 2 of this Act. (g) The term "commerce" means trade, traffic, commerce, transportation, or communication among the several States, or between the District of Columbia or any Territory of the United States and any State or other Territory, or the District of Columbia or within the District of Columbia or any Territory, or between points in the same State but through any other State or Territory or the District of Columbia or any foreign country. (h) The term "affecting commerce" means in commerce, or burdening or obstructing commerce, or the free flow of commerce, or having led or tending to lead to a labor dispute burdening or obstructing commerce or the free flow or commerce. SEPARABILITY SEC. 11. If any provision of this Act or the application of such provision to any person or circumstance shall be held invalid, the validity of the remainder of the Act and the applicability of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby. [H. R. 2438, 81st Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL Providing equal pay for equal work for women, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, PURPOSE AND TITLE OF ACT SECTION 1. (a) The Congress hereby finds that the existence in industry of wage differentials based on sex is an inequity in compensation standards which constitutes an unfair wage practice and (1) leads to labor disputes; (2) depresses wages and living standards of employees, male and female; (3) interferes with and prevents the maintenance of an adequate standard of living by such workers and the families dependent on them for support, and in particular has serious detrimental effects on the standard of living of families of deceased or disabled veterans; (4) prevents the maximum utilization of our available labor resources and plant capacity essential for full production; and (5) endangers the national security and the general welfare, and thereby burdens, affects, and obstructs commerce. It is hereby declared to be the policy of this Act, through the exercise by Congress of its power to regulate commerce among the several States, to correct and, as rapidly as possible, to eliminate discriminatory wage practices against women based on sex. (b) This Act may be cited as the "Women's Equal Pay Act of 1949". |