"Despite New Law, Gender Salary Gap Persists"

Article here. Excerpt:

'New legislation in Congress aims to close the pay equity gap, even as administration officials prepare to step up enforcement of the existing law.

Economists say part of the gap is because women are more likely to take time off work for child care, and an even bigger part is because of "occupational segregation": Women tend to work disproportionately in lower-paying fields. To be sure, many women's groups see this as a vestige of discrimination. (Another bill, the Fair Pay Act, seeks to address this, though that legislation is considered less likely to gain congressional passage.)
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Critics worry the Paycheck Fairness Act would encourage a surge of unfounded class-action lawsuits. Labor and employment lawyer Jane McFetridge said small businesses would also find the new requirements cumbersome. For example, an employer who pays a man more than a woman for the same job might have to show that it's a "business necessity."

"Do we want the government deciding what is business necessity?" McFetridge asked lawmakers at the hearing. "Isn't that for the business owner to decide?"'