Equal Pay Day to Spotlight Pay Equity Legislation

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/04/16/equal-pay-day-to-spotlight-pay-equity-legislation/

by James Parks, Apr 16, 2008

It’s been 45 years since equal pay became the law, but working women still are not paid as much as men for the same work, even though recent statistics indicate they are better educated. As Equal Pay Day approaches, union members, women’s rights and civil rights advocates are joining together to make sure women are paid their fair wage.

Equal pay advocates are mobilizing to urge the Senate to pass the Fair Pay Restoration Act (S. 1843), also known as the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The bill would restore the ability of U.S. workers to sue for pay discrimination. The House passed the legislation in July 2007, and the Senate is expected to take it up next week.

If enacted, the act would reverse a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision dismissing a suit by Lilly Ledbetter, an employee for 19 years at a tire plant in Gadsden, Ala., who says she was paid less than her male counterparts.

The Supreme Court said she did not file her lawsuit against Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. within 180 days after the discrimination occurred, as required by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The court let the company off the hook by calculating the deadline from the day Goodyear made its original decision to pay her less than her male colleagues. The law had previously made it clear that the clock did not start until she received her last discriminatory paycheck. The bill would remove the 180-day limit.

Take action. Call 202-224-3121 or click here to send an e-mail urging your senator to vote for S. 1843.

Two other bills that would expand protection against pay discrimination—the Paycheck Fairness Act, introduced by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), and the Fair Pay Act, introduced by Del. Eleanor Holmes-Norton (D-D.C.) and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa)—are still in committee.

FULL story at link.