The Fair Pay Act of 2026 aims to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to significantly strengthen protections against wage discrimination. Its core purpose is to prohibit employers from discriminating in wage payments, or other employment terms and conditions, on the basis of sex, race, or national origin. A key provision expands the concept of equal pay from "equal work" to "equivalent jobs," defining these as jobs that may be dissimilar but have equivalent requirements when viewed as a composite of skills, effort, responsibility, and working conditions. Employers are prohibited from paying lower wages in jobs dominated by a particular sex, race, or national origin compared to other equivalent jobs, unless justified by specific, legitimate factors. Permissible wage differentials include those based on seniority systems , merit systems , or systems measuring earnings by quantity or quality of production . Additionally, differentials based on bona fide factors like education, training, or experience are allowed if they are job-related, further a legitimate business purpose, and were applied reasonably. However, an employer cannot reduce an employee's wage rate to comply with these provisions. The bill enhances enforcement by treating violations as unpaid minimum wages or overtime and introduces new remedies, including compensatory and punitive damages for affected employees. It also explicitly prohibits employers from retaliating against individuals who inquire about, disclose, compare, or discuss their wages or participate in related investigations. To ensure transparency and accountability, the legislation mandates new record-keeping requirements for employers regarding their wage-setting methods. Employers with a certain number of employees (initially 25, then 15) must submit annual reports to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) detailing wage rates by sex, race, and national origin for various job classifications. The EEOC is tasked with issuing guidelines, ensuring confidentiality of individual employee data, and using aggregated information for research and public inspection. Furthermore, the EEOC will conduct studies, provide educational resources, and offer technical assistance to employers and the public to facilitate compliance with the new wage discrimination prohibitions. The Act also extends its provisions to Congressional and Executive Branch employees and is set to take effect one year after its enactment.