Back in July, the proposed Paycheck Fairness Act, whose lead sponsor is Connecticut’s own Rep. Rosa DeLauro, was still just being tossed around. At the time, I noted that there was criticism of the statistics being used to justify the law.

Now, numerous outlets are suggesting that the bill is close to passage (here, here and here.) Jon Hyman, of the Ohio Employer’s Law Blog, has previously provided this excellent recap of the five significant changes that employers should be aware of in this bill.  They include modifications to the defenses can use, enhanced damages, new non-retaliation provisions, changes from an opt-in to an opt-out class action status, and new reporting obligations. 

The topic is one that is of interest to our current Connecticut senators. In March 2010, Sen. Dodd held a hearing on the subject here.  For more background, you can see all of my posts related to the subject here. 

In the meantime, employers should keep tabs on this new legislative initiative.