Equal Pay. The \”Paycheck Fairness Act\” (S. 2199) was intended to ensure that men and women receive equal pay for equal work by, for example, requiring businesses to demonstrate that pay-gaps between men and women with similar jobs and qualifications are \”job-related with respect to the position in question; and … consistent with business necessity.\” The bill also authorizes enhanced penalties for sex discrimination.
The Senate did not vote on the underlying bill itself but on a procedural motion to invoke cloture, and thus limit debate, so that the bill could come up for a vote. The motion to invoke cloture was rejected on September 15, 2014 by a vote of 52 to 40 (60 votes, three-fifths of the full Senate, are needed to invoke cloture; Roll Call 262). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the federal government has no constitutional authorization to determine the value of employees\’ labor in the private sector, whether in the absolute sense or relative to other wages. Wages instead should be determined by the market.
