President Obama has issued a proclamation establishing April 20 as “National Equal Pay Day.” This day is meant to symbolize “the day when an average American woman's earnings finally match what an average American man earned in the past year.” In a statement supporting Equal Pay Day, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis called for passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 12, S. 182), legislation that cleared the House of Representatives “and is gaining momentum in the Senate.” This measure would expand damages under the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to include potentially unlimited compensatory and punitive awards. In addition, it would amend the broad affirmative defense previously available to employers that the pay differential in question is caused by a factor other than sex. The bill would also eliminate the “establishment” requirement that employees must work in the same place of employment for wage comparison purposes.

Solis also mentioned other DOL efforts to promote wage equality, including the fact that the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) “has renewed its emphasis on the identification and elimination of gender-based discrimination at the worksites of federal contractors.” Solis added that the Women's Bureau “is conducting research and analysis, providing technical assistance and building partnerships to increase women's incomes, narrow the wage gap and reduce income inequality.”

On January 29, 2009, President Obama signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which effectively eliminates the statute of limitations in wage discrimination cases by resetting the time limit for filing suit every time a claimant receives a paycheck or other form of compensation whose amount stems from an alleged act of discrimination.