On March 25, 2025, we commemorate Equal Pay Day, the day that marks how far into the year women must work in order to catch up with what men were paid the year before. This day brings into sharp focus the significant pay disparities women face across age groups, education levels, and industries.
And, alarmingly, for the first time in 20 years, the gender pay gap has widened. In 2023, across all workers in the U.S., women were typically paid 75 cents for every dollar paid to a man. That adds up to a $14,170 pay difference in a year.
We cannot afford to lose progress and must take every opportunity to promote pay equity. Equal Pay Day reminds us that now is the time for our federal government to prioritize policies that will help narrow the wage gap.
But rather than focusing on policies that would help narrow the gender wage gap, the Trump Administration has cut a ten-year-old protection that helps workers discover pay discrimination.
Understanding what was lost is critical as we continue the fight for pay equity.
How did the Trump Administration roll back protections that helped workers discover pay discrimination?
On January 21, 2025, as part of a larger assault on worker and civil rights, President Trump revoked Executive Order 11246. Defenders of the Executive Order (EO) rollback have argued that no one lost any rights because of other federal laws, or if they did, it’s not a big deal.
Federal civil rights laws do continue to protect most federal contract workers. But those workers lost their rights to ask about pay without discrimination. And it is a big deal.
In 2014, President Obama amended Executive Order 11246 to prohibit federal contractors with contracts over $10,000 from discharging or discriminating against their employees for asking about, discussing, or disclosing their own pay or others’.
Without EO 11246, existing federal law falls short on protecting federal contract workers from discrimination for discussing or disclosing what they’re paid.
- Federal civil rights laws do not protect workers against discrimination for discussing or disclosing pay. Federal contract workers who work for companies with more than 15 employees remain protected against pay discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. And the Equal Pay Act of 1963 continues to protect virtually all employees. But these laws prohibit discriminatory pay. Neither law provides workers with protection against discrimination for discussing their pay.
- Federal labor law provides protections, but it does not apply to everyone. Many federal contract workers remain protected from retaliation for discussing pay with coworkers under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). But others have been stripped of their rights because the EO protected employees, such as supervisors, and activities that the NLRA does not protect.
Why are these protections important?
Too often women are unaware that their counterparts are paid more for the same work. It is critical that workers be able to ask their employers about their pay and talk with coworkers about it so they can uncover and challenge pay disparities. But when employers punish or threaten workers who ask about or discuss pay, workers lose the chance to get the information they need to uncover and challenge pay disparities.
Fair pay champion Lilly Ledbetter’s experience serves as a clear example of the harms of pay secrecy. Over the course of 20 years working as a supervisor at Goodyear, Lilly received smaller raises than her male counterparts. She went years without discovering the pay disparity that cost her close to $200,000 over her career. Her employer’s rules were clear: “You do not discuss wages with anyone in this factory.” It was not until she received an anonymous note that she discovered the pay discrimination.
Who lost protections against discrimination for asking about, discussing and disclosing pay when EO 11246 was revoked?
Federal contract workers, who make up more than 20 percent of the U.S. workforce, were directly impacted when EO 11246 was revoked. They work across the country and in various industries. And, like all workers, federal contract workers cannot afford to lose out on protections that move them closer to equal pay.
- Workers lost protections for asking about their own pay. EO 11246 prohibited discrimination against employees who ask about or discuss others’ pay or even their own pay. Workers covered by the NLRA continue to enjoy the right to engage in “concerted activity,” which includes the right to discuss pay with other employees. But when an employee asks about their own pay, it may not be considered concerted activity protected under the NLRA.
The importance of protecting this broader scope of activity is made clear by a 2022 Labor Department investigation. After investigating a worker complaint, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) found Hospitality Logistics International violated EO 11246 by firing a worker for asking about the worker’s own pay. The company agreed to pay the fired worker $100,000, provide a neutral reference for the employee, if needed, and update its workplace policies. - Supervisors lost their protections. EO 11246 pay discussion protections applied to covered federal contract workers and applicants, including supervisors. In contrast, as a law aimed at protecting workers’ organizing and bargaining rights, the NLRA does not apply to supervisors.
It is critical that these protections cover a broader scope of workers, including supervisors. For example, fair pay champion Lilly Ledbetter was a supervisor who was paid less than her male counterparts and subject to pay secrecy policies.
Coverage for supervisors is critical given that the gender wage gap for female managers is greater than the overall gender wage gap.
How can we restore protections for workers?
Congress has expressed interest in restoring protections provided under EO 11246. But we also need to extend protections to all workers.
The Paycheck Fairness Act would help protect virtually all workers from discriminatory pay based on sex by making it easier to demonstrate that discrimination has occurred. The bill would also prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who ask about and discuss their wages.
