On Friday, the House of Representatives passed two bills that would greatly improve the ability of women and other employees to bring claims of wage discrimination. President-Elect Obama has said that he would like to sign the bills — the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act — in his first days in office. So, if the Senate moves quickly to pass both bills we could take an important step towards pay equity in the next few weeks.
The provisions of the bills include:
- The correction of a Supreme Court decision that incorrectly bars many (if not most) wage discrimination cases from being heard in Court;
- An increase in the remedies available to women who win wage discrimination suits and the easing of rules that allow women to bring class actions;
- Procedures to bring greater attention to model employers so that others can emulate “best practices;”’ and,
- A prohibition of employer retaliation against those who file wage discrimination cases.
Women still only earn 78 cents for every dollar earned by men.
The passage of these laws will allow women who have been paid less than they are worth to seek justice.
You can help to have these two bills passed quickly by contacting your Senators and urging them to support both the Ledbetter and the Paycheck Fairness Acts. You can reach them at www.senate.gov or 202.224.3121.
Think about what a great way this would be to start the New Year!
Sharon Levin is The Women’s Foundation’s Director of Policy Advocacy.
