White House Unveils Equal Pay Pledge at Summit

Employment Law, Inclusion and Diversity

This week, the White House hosted the United State of Women Summit, at which it urged companies to sign onto an Equal Pay Pledge supported by 28 companies.  The pledge, which was unveiled at the Summit, commits a company to "taking action individually and collectively to reduce [the] national pay gap. . .[including] conducting an annual company-wide gender pay analysis across occupations; reviewing hiring and promotion processes and procedures to reduce unconscious bias and structural barriers; and embedding equal pay efforts into broader enterprise-wide equity initiatives."  The pledge was announced simultaneously with announcements by two key agencies of actions addressing pay and other workplace discrimination issues.  The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs announced it has finalized revisions to its sex discrimination rules for federal contractors, effective August 15, to address "equal employment and fair pay, including compensation discrimination, sexual harassment, hostile work environments, a lack of workplace accommodations for pregnant workers, and gender identity and family caregiving discrimination."  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission posted three new documents addressed to employees: "What You Should Know: Equal Pay and the EEOC's Proposal to Collect Pay Data," "Legal Rights for Pregnant Workers under Federal Law" and "Helping Patients Deal with Pregnancy-Related Limitations and Restrictions at Work."