Obama Moves to Expand Rules Aimed at Closing Gender Pay Gap
By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS

WASHINGTON — President Obama on Friday moved to require companies to report to the federal government what they pay employees by race, gender and ethnicity, part of his push to crack down on firms that pay women less for doing the same work as men.

“Women are not getting the fair shot that we believe every single American deserves,” Mr. Obama said in announcing the proposal, timed to coincide with the seventh anniversary of his signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which makes it easier for people to challenge discriminatory pay. “What kind of example does paying women less set for our sons and daughters?”

The new rules, Mr. Obama’s latest bid to use his executive power to address a priority of his that Congress has resisted acting on, would mandate that companies with 100 employees or more include salary information on a form they already submit annually that reports employees’ sex, age and job groups.

“Too often, pay discrimination goes undetected because of a lack of accurate information about what people are paid,” said Jenny Yang, the chairwoman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which will publish the proposed regulation jointly with the Department of Labor. “We will be using the information that we’re collecting as one piece of information that can inform our investigations.”

The requirement would expand on an executive order Mr. Obama issued nearly two years ago that called for federal contractors to submit salary information for women and men. Ms. Yang said the rules would be completed in September, with the first reports due a year later.

“Bridging the stubborn pay gap between men and women in the work force has proven to be very challenging,” said Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to Mr. Obama, noting that the median wage for women amounts to 79 percent of that for men. “We have seen progress, but it isn’t enough.”

White House officials said that the requirement was intended to bolster the government’s ability to penalize companies that engage in discriminatory pay practices and to encourage businesses to police themselves better and correct such disparities.

Marc Benioff, the chief executive of Salesforce.com, whom the White House enlisted to help make its case for the rules, said that while he “never intended” to pay women less than men, he had discovered that his company was doing so after two female employees approached him about it.

“We’re never going to solve this issue of pay inequality if C.E.O.s like myself and others continue to turn a blind eye to what’s happening in their own corporations,” Mr. Benioff said in a conference call organized by the White House, adding that he was spending $3 million to close the pay gap at his firm.

Mr. Obama on Friday also renewed his call for Congress to pass a measure allowing women to sue for punitive damages for pay discrimination. Republicans have repeatedly blocked such legislation, arguing that it would lead to frivolous lawsuits.

Republicans have sharply criticized Mr. Obama’s moves on pay equity, saying that gender discrimination is already illegal and that additional steps are not necessary.

歐巴馬繞過國會 打擊男女同工不同酬

男女薪資差距問題在美國存在已久，為消除這種差別待遇與職場歧視歪風，歐巴馬政府定廿九日宣布擴大消弭性別薪資差距法律的適用範圍，規定企業主把基於種族、性別、族裔等背景支付員工薪水的資料上報給聯邦政府，加大打擊男女同工不同酬企業的力道。

紐約時報報導，新規範將強制員工總數在百人以上的企業，把薪資資料列入每年上報員工性別、年齡及工作類別的表單。這是歐巴馬總統動用行政權解決國會拒不處理、但他列為優先要務的最新一次行動。

華裔律師、「聯邦平等就業機會委員會」主席楊睿珍（Jenny R. Yang）說：「薪資歧視很多時候無法察覺，因為缺乏薪資的準確資料。我們將使用收集到的資訊幫助我們進行調查。」該委員會將和美國勞工部共同發布這個法規草案。

這項規定將擴大歐巴馬約兩年前所頒布行政命令的適用範圍，要求承接聯邦業務的包商提交男女薪資資料。楊說，這項規範將於九月完成，一年後即可見到首批報告。

歐巴馬資深顧問薇樂莉．賈瑞特說：「消弭職場中棘手的男女薪資差距問題已經證明十分不易。我們看到了一些進展，但還不夠。」她指出女性平均薪資是男性的七成九。

白宮官員說，這項規定旨在加強政府懲治實行薪資歧視公司的能力，另並鼓勵企業更適當地自我監督且改正此一差異。

歐巴馬周五也打算再次呼籲國會通過允許女性就薪資歧視提告的懲罰性賠償措施，但共和黨一再阻止立法，認將導致無謂的訴訟。

歐巴馬促進薪資平等的舉措一直受到共和黨嚴厲批評，稱性別歧視已屬非法，額外措施並無必要。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/29/us/politics/obama-moves-to-expand-rules-aimed-at-closing-gender-pay-gap.html

2016-01-30．聯合報．A17．國際．編譯陳韋廷