Senator Boxer: Ending Wage Discrimination   

Friday, November 26, 2010  

 Dear Friend:

I want to share with you my Senate floor statement regarding S.3772, the Paycheck Fairness Act.  Although 58 Senators recently voted to take up this vital legislation, it was filibustered by the minority.  Please be assured that I will not rest until equal pay for equal work is the law of the land.

S.3772, the Paycheck Fairness Act
Statement of U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer
November 17, 2010

Mr. President, I am very disappointed that the Paycheck Fairness Act was filibustered today.  

The Paycheck Fairness Act passed the House on January 9, 2009 by a vote of 256-163 and Senate passage is long overdue.

This critical legislation will strengthen the Equal Pay Act and close the loopholes that have allowed employers to avoid responsibility for discriminatory pay.

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 problem for women in the workforce.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women only make 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man. The Institute of Women’s Policy Research found that this wage disparity will cost women anywhere from $400,000 to $2 million over a lifetime in lost wages.  Today an average college-educated woman working full time earns as much as $15,000 less than a college-educated male.  Working families lose $200 billion in income per year due to the wage gap between men and women.  

Pay discrimination is hurting our middle class families and hurting our economy.  Loopholes created by the courts and weak sanctions in the law have allowed many employers to avoid liability for engaging in gender-based pay discrimination.

That is why the Paycheck Fairness Act is so important.  

The bill closes loopholes that have allowed employers to justify pay discrimination and prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who share salary information with their co-workers.  It puts gender-based discrimination sanctions on equal footing with other forms of wage discrimination – such as race, disability or age – by allowing women to sue for compensatory and punitive damages.  And it also requires the Department of Labor to enhance outreach and training efforts to work with employers in order to eliminate pay disparities.

One of the 111th Congress’s most important achievements was passing the Lilly Ledbetter Equal Pay Restoration Act.  That legislation, which is now law, ensures that women who have been the victims of pay discrimination get their day in court and can challenge employers who willingly pay them less for the same work.  

The Equal Pay Restoration Act honors the legacy of Lilly Ledbetter, a supervisor at a Goodyear Tire Plant in Alabama, who after 19 years of service discovered she had earned 20 to 40 percent less than her male counterparts for doing the exact same job.   

Today we had another important opportunity to honor the legacy of women like Lilly Ledbetter by passing this legislation.  

But instead of standing up for equal economic opportunity for women, Republicans said no, and filibustered this important bill.  

I am very disappointed by this outcome, but I want my colleagues to know that we will not give up this fight.    

I yield the floor.   

Sincerely,

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer