Fair Pay Act Would Bring Equal Pay for Equal Work
Today, as equal rights advocates mark Equal Pay Day to remind the nation that women are paid just 80 cents for every dollar men earn, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) introduced the Fair Pay Act of 2011 that would ensure that employers provide equal pay for jobs that are equivalent in skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions.
Harkin says that discrimination accounts for much of the pay gap and there are too many loopholes and barriers to effective enforcement of existing laws. “We need to strengthen penalties and give women the tools they need to confront discrimination.”
At the same time, we must recognize that the problem of unequal pay goes beyond insidious discrimination. As a nation, we unjustly devalue jobs traditionally performed by women, even when they require comparable skills to jobs traditionally performed by men.
Millions of jobs dominated by women such as social workers, teachers, child care workers and nurses are equivalent in skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions to similar jobs dominated by men says Harkin:
But the female-dominated jobs pay significantly less. This is inexplicable. Why is a housekeeper worth less than a janitor? Why is a parking meter reader worth less than an electrical meter reader? Why is a social worker worth less than a probation officer? Read the rest of this entry »
Tell Senate It’s Time to Pass the Paycheck Fairness Act—Now!
Time is running out for the Senate to follow the lead of the House of Representatives and pass the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 182) to help close the wage gap between women and men. The Senate is back to work but could be gone for the fall elections in three weeks.
Call your senators today toll free at 1-877-667-6650 and urge them to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act before the end of September. Even if your senators are co-sponsors, they need to hear from you today, so the bill can be put on the Senate’s to-do list before adjournment.
The bill would deter wage discrimination by closing loopholes in the Equal Pay Act and barring retaliation against workers who disclose their wages to co-workers.
Lilly Ledbetter Watches as Obama Signs Fair Pay Act
With Lilly Ledbetter looking on, President Barack Obama this morning signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Said Obama during the ceremony in the White House East Room:
In signing this bill today, I intend to send a clear message: That making our economy work means making sure it works for everyone. That there are no second class citizens in our workplaces, and that it’s not just unfair and illegal—but bad for business—to pay someone less because of their gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion or disability.
After working nearly 20 years at a Goodyear tire plant, Ledbetter discovered she had been paid significantly less than men doing the same job. A federal jury ruled in her favor but Goodyear appealed, and in 2007 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Ledbetter—and other workers—had no right to sue for a remedy in cases of pay discrimination after more than 180 days after the first paycheck, even if she didn’t discover the pay discrimination until years later.
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Bill on Its Way to President Obama
It’s been a long and bumpy road, but women and other workers who suffer pay discrimination are about to find a smoother path to justice now that the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is on its way to President Barack Obama’s desk.
The House, this afternoon, passed the bill for the final time 250-177. The bill is named after the Alabama woman who, after working nearly 20 years at a Goodyear tire plant, discovered she had been paid significantly less than men doing the same job.
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act One Step Closer to Becoming Law
Last night after the Senate passed (61-36) the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Act, overturning the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that denied justice to Ledbetter—and any worker who suffers pay discrimination—Ledbetter told reporters:
When you win a battle, you’ve sometimes lost battles along the way. We knew we would get here. When right is right, it usually has a way of working out.
Ledbetter thought she had won her battle several years ago when a federal jury found she had been the victim of pay discrimination for nearly 20 years at an Alabama Goodyear tire plant where she was paid less than the men doing the same work.
But the Supreme Court ruled Ledbetter—and other workers—has no right to sue for a remedy in cases of pay discrimination if she—or any worker—waits more than 180 days after the first paycheck, even if she—or any worker—doesn’t discover the pay discrimination until years later, as was the case with Ledbetter.
House Passes Two Major Working Family Bills: Fair Pay Act, Paycheck Fairness Act
Lilly Ledbetter says she knows she’ll never recover the hundreds of thousands of dollars she lost from her paychecks because of nearly 20 years of pay discrimination. But today the U.S. House of Representatives, with a big push by Ledbetter’s refusal to go quietly away, took the first step to make sure millions of other women don’t suffer the same fate.
By a vote of 247-171, the House passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Act (H.R. 11) overturning the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that denied Ledbetter—and any worker who suffers pay discrimination—justice. Then shortly after, lawmakers added some new teeth to equal pay laws and passed the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 12) by a 256-163 vote. Both bills now go to the U.S. Senate.
Welcome, New Members of Congress!
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| Sen. Kay Hagen, who defeated Elizabeth Dole in North Carolina, and Rep. Paul Tonko of New York are among the new members of Congress who joined members of the AFL-CIO union movement at a reception in their honor. |
Before getting down to the serious business of fair pay legislation, the Employee Free Choice Act, economic recovery and a whole host of other issues to change the nation’s stumbling direction after eight years of Bush rule, dozens of new members of Congress, and some veterans, got together with the labor movement last night.
At the AFL-CIO-sponsored reception at a Capitol Hill hotel, lawmakers, union leaders and legislative representatives mingled and talked about how a larger working family majority in both houses will impact upcoming legislative battles. In his welcoming remarks, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said:
We know what our priorities are and we know how committed each and everyone of you are, as is the president of the United States, to the working family agenda.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told the crowd:
On behalf of the speaker [Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)] and myself, we will never forget, we will look forward to going forward shoulder to shoulder, paycheck to equitable paycheck. I will tell you this as well, when people say they want to be a member of a union and sign up, we’re going to make sure that they have the ability to be a member of a union.
Obama, Congress Put Working Families at Heart of Economic Plan
President-elect Barack Obama and Congress aren’t wasting any time setting the tone that the nation’s working families are at the center of their efforts to revitalize the economy and rebuild the middle class.
Obama is meeting today and throughout the week with congressional leaders to shape an economic recovery package that focuses on job creation, tax relief for middle-class families, help for the unemployed and aid for states caught in the grip of a tightening fiscal crisis.
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives will vote on two bills to ensure equal pay for women and reverse the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that severely restricted the rights of women to combat pay discrimination through the courts.
In his weekly radio address, Obama said the economic package—The American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan—aims to
not only create jobs in the short-term, but spur economic growth and competitiveness in the long term….We must make strategic investments that will serve as a down payment on our long-term economic future. We must demand vigorous oversight and strict accountability for achieving results. And we must restore fiscal responsibility and make the tough choices so that as the economy recovers, the deficit starts to come down. That is how we will achieve the number one goal of my plan—which is to create 3 million new jobs, more than 80 percent of them in the private sector.
Memo to Chamber: Get Out of the Way of Fair Pay
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Holy pay discrimination, Batman! Did you know that working women here in Gotham City and around the country lose $434,000 over a lifetime of work because of the gender pay gap? But the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is fighting against fair pay for women?
With a boost from Batgirl (see video), our friends at I Am Progress and Moms Rising are telling the U.S. Chamber of Commerce: “Get out of the way of fair pay.” The corporate lobby group has been the loudest voice on Capitol Hill against stronger fair pay laws. You can join in the chorus for pay equity and tell the Chamber to get out of the way, click here.
Launched today, the campaign aims to build support for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act and knock down the Chamber’s bogus arguments against the fair pay legislation.
Fair Pay Hearing Shows Why Pay Discrimination Isn’t OK
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When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5–4 in 2007 that Lilly Ledbetter waited too long to file a lawsuit after experiencing 20 years of pay discrimination by Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Ledbetter says it sent a “loud and clear” message to Big Business.
With regard to pay discrimination, there are lots of other companies out there that got the Supreme Court’s message loud and clear: They will not be punished for discriminating, if they do it long enough and cover it up well enough.
She testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday at a hearing examining pay discrimination and barriers to equal pay for equal work. Last year, after the court’s decision, the House passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act that, in effect, would reverse the ruling. But Senate Republicans, with the support of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), have blocked Senate action.
