H.R. 8663 — Fair Pay Act of 2026

This section provides the short title of the Act as the “Fair Pay Act of 2026” and directs that references to amendments or repeals in the Act be treated as amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.), except as provided in section 8.

This section sets forth congressional findings regarding wage rate differentials between jobs segregated by sex, race, and national origin. The findings detail pay gaps (including 80 cents on the dollar for women overall in 2015, with larger disparities for women of color), attribute portions of the gaps to occupational segregation and discrimination, and describe resulting effects on living standards, commerce, and public assistance programs.

This section prohibits employers from discriminating in wages or other terms and conditions of employment between employees in equivalent jobs on the basis of sex, race, or national origin, where one job is dominated by employees of a particular sex, race, or national origin. It defines equivalent jobs as those whose requirements are equivalent when viewed as a composite of skills, effort, responsibility, and working conditions; provides exceptions for differentials based on a seniority system, merit system, quantity or quality of production, or other bona fide factors that are job-related or serve a legitimate business purpose; directs the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to issue guidelines for determining whether a job is dominated by employees of a particular sex, race, or national origin without listing such jobs; bars employers from reducing any employee's wages to achieve compliance; applies the same rules to labor organizations; treats violations as unpaid minimum wages or overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act; and makes a conforming amendment to existing exemptions.

This section expands the prohibited acts under section 15(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. 215(a)) by adding two new paragraphs. Paragraph (7) prohibits discrimination against any individual for opposing acts made unlawful by section 6(h) or for participating in investigations or proceedings to enforce that section. Paragraph (8) prohibits discharging, discriminating against, coercing, intimidating, threatening, or interfering with any employee for inquiring about, disclosing, comparing, or discussing wages, or for exercising rights granted or protected by section 6(h).

This section expands remedies under the Fair Labor Standards Act for violations of section 6(d) or (h). It makes employers liable for compensatory or punitive damages in addition to existing back wages and liquidated damages, while barring punitive damages against the United States. It authorizes the Secretary of Labor to seek such additional damages in enforcement actions and permits class actions under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for violations of section 6(h), along with recovery of expert fees for prevailing plaintiffs.

This section requires employers subject to section 6(h) to preserve records documenting the methods, systems, calculations, and bases used to establish, adjust, and determine employee wage rates, and directs the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to prescribe by regulation the retention periods and reporting of such records. For employers with 25 or more employees during the first or second year after the effective date (or 15 or more employees in any subsequent year), the section further requires annual submission to the EEOC of a signed report detailing wage rates by classification, position, job title, or other wage group, disaggregated by sex, race, and national origin of employees at each wage rate. The EEOC must issue regulations protecting employee confidentiality by prohibiting inclusion of individual names in such reports, may publish aggregate information and data for statistical and research purposes, must provide for public inspection and examination of the reports, and must furnish copies upon payment of a cost-based fee. The EEOC may also prescribe simplified reporting for smaller employers where detailed reports would be unduly burdensome.

This section directs the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to conduct studies and provide information and technical assistance to employers, labor organizations, and the general public on effective means to implement section 6(h) prohibitions on wage rate discrimination between employees performing equivalent jobs on the basis of sex, race, or national origin. The section requires the Commission to maintain a continuing program of research, education, and technical assistance that includes developing methods to correct wage differentials, publishing study findings, sponsoring state and community informational programs, and offering compliance assistance. It also requires the Secretary’s biennial report to Congress to include a separate evaluation and appraisal of section 6(h) implementation.

This section makes conforming amendments to apply subsections (a)(1), (d), and (h) of section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to congressional employees under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 and to executive branch employees under title 3 of the United States Code. It also authorizes remedies under section 16(f) of such Act in appropriate cases.