House Passes Paycheck Fairness Act:

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All Eyes on Senate to Pass Legislation to End Unequal Pay
Statement of NOW President Kim Gandy

August 1, 2008

The Paycheck Fairness Act passed by the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday evening is a major victory for women, as it is the most important piece of pay equity legislation to pass in decades. Fourteen Republicans joined Democrats to pass the historic measure with a final vote of 247 to 178. The Senate bill could be taken up after the August congressional recess.

The bill, if passed by the Senate and signed into law, could help women make real progress toward reducing the 23 percent differential in pay between women and men. Sex-based pay discrimination means much more than 23 cents on the dollar -- it can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars over a woman's lifetime that are lost to her and her family. These lost wages can mean the family is unable to afford college tuition or health insurance, and the lowered pensions and social security payments associated with lower income can lead to poverty for elderly women who were not able to save and invest for retirement.

The legislation would amend the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to strengthen penalties for equal pay violations, enhance data collection from employers so that patterns of sex discrimination in pay can be identified, and more directly place the responsibility on employers defending wage differences to show that the differences are due to factors other than sex. A particularly important provision establishes the right of wage discrimination plaintiffs under the Equal Pay Act to receive compensatory and punitive damages, a remedy that is available in most other anti-discrimination statutes.

The Paycheck Fairness Act requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to train employees and affected entities on matters involving wages, and encourages the Department of Labor to make grants for negotiation skills training programs for girls and women -- sort of a "self defense" regimen for workers who cannot expect wage fairness from their employers. For African-American women and Latinas this legislation literally means a difference between living in poverty and surviving on a living wage. As a co-sponsor of the bill, Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.) explained, women of color suffer additional pay discrimination: Latinas are paid on average 57 cents and African-American women 68 cents, compared to the dollar paid to men.

In floor remarks, DeLauro recalled the unfair treatment of Lily Ledbetter whose pay discrimination claim was denied by the U.S. Supreme Court. Legislation to address inequities in the law that affected Ms. Ledbetter has passed the House but is languishing in the Senate.

The treatment of women as second-class citizen cannot be tolerated, and this House victory is a sign that things are changing in Congress. We still must keep up the pressure on our elected officials, but change is coming.