Equal Work, Equal Pay

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Published on Thursday, 08 January 2009

Written by ACLU

Equal Pay up for a Vote in the House Tomorrow, January 9th

The new Congress is only days old, but already we have a great opportunity for equality with two critical bills that will come up for a House vote tomorrow, January 9th.

If enacted, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (H.R. 11) will correct a grave injustice perpetrated by a wrong-headed 2007 Supreme Court decision. In the Ledbetter case, the Court ruled that an employee must challenge pay discrimination within 180 days of the employer's initial decision to discriminate or forever forfeit his or her right to demand equality. Absurdly, this is true whether the employee knows about the discrimination in that time period or not.

The legislation now before Congress will restore the well-established right of people to sue to recover lost wages for ongoing pay discrimination that, in many cases, lasts years and years.

The vitally important Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 12) is also up for a vote in the House Friday. This bill will put an end to loopholes and weak remedies that have made the Equal Pay Act, a 45 year-old law that was supposed to ensure equal pay for women, less effective than it should be in combating wage discrimination.

Together, these bills will provide the tools needed to gain equal pay for equal work and combat the damaging effects of wage discrimination faced by hard-working employees and their families.

The Senate is expected to take up these bills very soon as well. We expect the margin to be razor-thin. A strong House vote for both these bills will help convince on-the-fence Senators to do the right thing.

Take Action Today: Tell your member of Congress to support equality and pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act.

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