Washington, DC – January 9, 2009 – Today the U.S. House of Representatives passed two bills to make certain that all Americans receive the same pay for the same work – the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act.

“For far too long, many employers have continued to pay different workers different wages for the same work – despite the clear intent of the Equal Pay Act of 1963,” Congressman Doyle observed.  “These employers have prohibited employees from comparing compensation levels and exploited the resulting lack of knowledge to discriminate against particular individuals and certain groups of people.  Women have been especially hard-pressed to secure equal compensation for equal work.” 

“The problem was compounded last year when the Supreme Court overturned prior law in its v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. decision and ruled that discrimination claims must be filed within 180 days of the beginning of the alleged discrimination,” Congressman Doyle added.  “It’s outrageous for the courts to impose such a tight timeframe for lawsuits when companies enjoy the right to prohibit employees from sharing information about compensation levels.  The odds are already badly stacked against workers who have experienced discrimination in the workplace.”

“Consequently, I was proud to cosponsor the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act – and to vote for them when they were considered by the House of Representatives today,” Congressman Doyle said.  “It’s my belief that these bills will help ensure that all Americans receive the same pay for the same work.  Such pay equity is important for simple fairness’ sake, but I also believe that it has important economic and quality of life benefits for our society as well.”

Although the wage gap between men and women has narrowed since the passage of the landmark Equal Pay Act in 1963, gender-based wage discrimination remains a significant problem for women in the U.S. workforce. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women only make 78 cents for every dollar earned by a man.  The Institute of Women’s Policy Research concluded that this wage disparity will cost a woman anywhere from $400,000 to $2 million in lost wages over her lifetime.  Furthermore, 41 percent of women are their families’ sole source of income.  The wage gap hurts everyone because it lowers family incomes that pay for household essentials like rent, groceries, doctors’ visits, and child care.  When women earn more, whole families benefit. 

Lilly Ledbetter worked for nearly 20 years at a Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company.  She sued the company after learning that she was paid less then her male counterparts at the facility, despite having more experience than several of them.  A jury found that her employer had unlawfully discriminated against her on the basis of sex.  However, the Supreme Court said that Ledbetter had waited too long to sue for pay discrimination, despite the fact that she filed a charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as soon as she received an anonymous note alerting her to pay discrimination.  According to published reports, the Ledbetter decision has already been cited in more than 300 discrimination cases.  Not only have pay discrimination cases been adversely impacted, but protections guaranteed by the Fair Housing Act, Title IX, and the Eight Amendment have also been affected.
 
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act would simply restore prior law – requiring that a pay discrimination charge simply be filed within 180 days of a discriminatory paycheck, not necessarily the first discriminatory paycheck.  The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act would apply to workers who file claims of discrimination on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, religion, age, or disability.
 
The Paycheck Fairness Act would attempt to strengthen the federal laws intended to promote pay equity.  Specifically, it would:

• Require that an employer seeking to justify unequal pay bears the burden of proving that its actions are job-related and consistent with a business necessity;

• Prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who share salary information with their co-workers;

• Put gender-based discrimination sanctions on equal footing with other forms of wage discrimination – such as discrimination based on race, disability or age – by allowing women to sue for compensatory and punitive damages;

• Require the Department of Labor to enhance outreach and training efforts to work with employers in order to eliminate pay disparities;  and

• Require the Department of Labor to continue to collect and disseminate wage information based on gender.

“I urge the Senate to promptly approve these important pay equity bills as well,” Congressman Doyle said.

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