On January 29, 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration announced new actions to advance pay equity on the 15th anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. This Act, which is named after Lilly Ledbetter, a woman who filed a lawsuit against her employer for gender-based pay discrimination, helps workers challenge unlawful pay discrimination.

The newly announced measures are intended to help the federal government lead by example and eliminate persistent wage gaps that disproportionately affect women and people of color. According to the White House, women workers still receive, on average, only 84 cents for every dollar paid to men, and this disparity is even greater for many women of color.

The new actions include:

• A final rule issued by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) ensures that federal agencies will no longer consider an applicant’s current or past pay when determining the salaries of federal employees. Eliminating salary history in pay-setting decisions can prevent pay discrimination that often follows employees throughout their careers.
• A proposal issued by the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council seeking to prohibit federal contractors and subcontractors from requesting and considering applicants’ compensation history when hiring or determining compensation for employees working on government contracts. The proposal also requires federal contractors and subcontractors to disclose expected salary ranges in job postings to improve pay equity amongst workers.
• An issuance of equal pay guidance for federal contractors from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), which enforces laws that prohibit discrimination based on sex, race, ethnicity, disability, and other protected characteristics.

The Biden-Harris Administration stated that these actions are part of their commitment to ensuring opportunity and fairness for all workers and closing gender and racial wage gaps.

Please refer to The White House Fact Sheet: Biden-Harris Administration Announces New Actions to Advance Pay Equity on the 15th Anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act for more information.