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Congress Unlikely to Approve Paycheck Fairness Act
August 01, 2008 02:23 PM
by
Rachel Balik
The House votes on August 1 on a bill that aims to protect women from pay discrimination, but it probably will not pass.
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“More than four decades after the enactment of the Equal Pay Act, women still make only 77 cents for every dollar made by their male counterparts, a wage disparity that cannot be explained by differences in qualifications, education, skills, training, responsibility or life choices,” the ACLU’s Washington Bureau Director reports. The House of Representatives is voting on the Paycheck Fairness Act, which is intended to remedy this inequality.
The Paycheck Fairness Act follows closely on the heels of the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which the House passed in July 2007 but the Senate voted down in April 2008. The Fair Pay Act was intended to amend the Equal Pay Act of 1963 so that women would have more time after termination of employment to sue for discrimination.
The new Act would make similar amendments, and also set guidelines for employers in terms of wages and making information about employees’ pay publicly available. But the House has been blasted with opposition from human resource organizations that represent businesses and employers.
The Paycheck Fairness Act follows closely on the heels of the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which the House passed in July 2007 but the Senate voted down in April 2008. The Fair Pay Act was intended to amend the Equal Pay Act of 1963 so that women would have more time after termination of employment to sue for discrimination.
The new Act would make similar amendments, and also set guidelines for employers in terms of wages and making information about employees’ pay publicly available. But the House has been blasted with opposition from human resource organizations that represent businesses and employers.
Headline Link: ‘Women Get Paid Less? Congress may Say “Get Over It”’
The House votes on August 1 on the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill that will attempt to eliminate gender-based pay inequality. But the House has received a flood of letters opposing the bill, and is likely to vote it down. The new bill would attempt to tighten loopholes left by the 1963 Equal Pay Act. However, many businesses are very concerned because the “act could expose employers to more class action lawsuits and to liability for unlimited punitive and compensatory damages in pay discrimination cases.”
Source: The Kansas City Star
Background: The Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
In April 2008, the Senate voted against the Fair Pay Restoration Act, a bill proposed after the Supreme Court ruled that Goodyear employee Lilly Ledbetter could not file a discrimination complaint more 180 days than after terminating employment. It was largely Republicans who voted against the bill, concerned about the “flood of lawsuits” that would likely ensue. But most Democrats were displeased. “We’re going to tell everybody about this ignominious vote that just occurred,” Maryland Democratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski said.
Source: CNN
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Gavel blog announced the House vote in favor of the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in July of 2007. Speaker Pelosi supported the vote, explaining “The Supreme Court’s decision ignored the reality that most workers do not discuss their paychecks with their colleagues, which makes it extremely difficult for employees to know if they have been the victim of pay discrimination.”
Source: The Gavel
In a 5–4 decision, the Supreme Court upheld a ruling by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that employees could not sue their employers for discrimination more than 180 days after the fact.
Source: FoxNews.com
Reaction: Fighting for the Paycheck Fairness Act
The ACLU is one organization petitioning Congress in favor of the Paycheck Fairness Act. “‘There should be no doubt that improvements to the Equal Pay Act are necessary,’ said ACLU Washington Legislative Office Director Caroline Fredrickson. ‘More than four decades after the enactment of the Equal Pay Act, women still make only 77 cents for every dollar made by their male counterparts, a wage disparity that cannot be explained by differences in qualifications, education, skills, training, responsibility or life choices.’”
Source: CommonDreams.org
To gather support for the much-opposed bill, the National Women’s Law Center has been encouraging citizens to e-mail Senators who voted against the Fair Pay Act, in the event that the Paycheck Fairness Act passes in the House and comes up for a Senate vote.
Source: National Women’s Law Center
Opinion & Analysis: Arguments for and against the Act
James Sherk, Bradley Fellow in Labor Policy for the Heritage Organization, a think tank devoted to “principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense,” argues that the Paycheck Fairness Act “burdens” employees and employers. Sherk writes, “In the name of protecting women from discrimination, the Act permits the government and the courts to micromanage employers, tying them up in a sea of red tape.”
Source: The Heritage Foundation
Political Affairs magazine editors write that it’s essential to pass the Act. They report that “women’s wages have stagnated in recent years and according to the Economic Policy Institute, women’s median pay has fallen in recent years. It is time to stem this economic crisis for women workers.”
Source: Political Affairs Editors’ Blog
Reference: Discrimination laws and rulings
The Supreme Court decision denying Lilly Ledbetter the right to claim discrimination is available on the Cornell University Law School Web site.
Source: Cornell University Law School
The Ledbetter Fair Pay Act proposed amending the Equal Pay Act so that women like Ledbetter would have more time to file complaints of discrimination.
Source: National Organization for Women
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 states that, “No employer having employees subject to any provisions of this section shall discriminate, within any establishment in which such employees are employed, between employees on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees in such establishment at a rate less than the rate at which he pays wages to employees of the opposite sex in such establishment for equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions.”
Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
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