Washington , D.C. – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congresswomen Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3), Lynn Woolsey (CA-6), and Lois Capps (CA-23) joined with Senate and House Democratic women and guest Lilly Ledbetter to call for passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in both chambers. The rally focused on Democrats’ commitment to ensure equal pay for working people without regard to gender. At a time when middle class budgets are being squeezed America ’s families should not have to bear the brunt of employers that pay women a lower wage to do the same job of male coworkers.

"Equal pay is an issue of fundamental fairness. As families grapple with difficult economic times, it is also often about daily survival for millions of families,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. “For those reasons, we must work together to bring the Paycheck Fairness Act to the floor for the vote it deserves."

“Pay equity is not a women’s issue, it is a family issue. Ensuring pay equity can help families gain the resources they need to give their children a better future. So let us make good on that promise, pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, and make sure women who face the discrimination that Lily Ledbetter faced, have the power to challenge it – earning a full day’s pay for a full day’s work,” said Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro .

“Forty years after the Congress passed the Equal Pay Act, women like Lily Ledbetter know firsthand that gender wage discrimination is still alive and well,” said Congresswoman Woolsey. “That’s why we must pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, and ensure that regardless of gender, every American receives equal pay for equal work.”

“When women earn less, their entire family suffers,” said Congresswoman Capps, Chair of the Democratic Women’s Working Group. “When we allow women to be paid unequal wages for equal work, we as a society are tolerating discrimination. That is why we must take action to close the wage gap, pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act immediately and urge the President to quickly sign it into law for the benefit of millions of hard working women and their families.”

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act would clarify that every paycheck or other compensation resulting, in whole or in part, from an earlier discriminatory pay decision constitutes a violation of the Civil Rights Act. As long as workers file their charges within 180 days of a discriminatory paycheck, their charges would be considered timely. The legislation would also clarify that, once a worker files a charge, he or she needs not keep filing new charges with each new paycheck, and that employees who are victims of discrimination are entitled to up to two years of back pay, as already provided in the Civil Rights Act.

The Paycheck Fairness Act would prevent, regulate and reduce pay discrimination for women across the country. It would create a training program to help women strengthen their negotiation skills, enforce equal pay laws for federal contractors and require the Department of Labor to work with employers to eliminate pay disparities by enhancing outreach and training efforts. Also, the bill would prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who share salary information with their co-workers and allow women to sue for punitive damages in addition to compensatory damages now available under the Equal Pay Act.

Forty four years after the Equal Pay Act was signed into law, pay discrimination still exists in the workplace. As a result, millions of American families lose out. According to the National Committee on Pay Equity, working women stand to lose $250,000 over the course of their career because of unequal pay practices. According to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the wage gap continues to persist even though women posted a greater net increase in jobs paying above the median salary than men from 2000 to 2005. In 2005, the median weekly pay for men was $663 compared to 73 percent of that for women, who earned $486 a week on average.

About Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company

Ms. Ledbetter worked as a supervisor for a Goodyear Tire plant in Gadsden , Alabama . After nearly two decades, an anonymous note revealed that for years she had been paid less than male coworkers that held the same job. She learned that she was being paid less than all her male counterparts in the department, including recent hires with less job experience.

A jury found that Goodyear discriminated against Ms. Ledbetter. She was awarded $3.8 million in back pay and damages. This amount was reduced to $360,000 – which was $300,000 (the Title VII damage cap for compensatory and punitive damages) and $60,000 in backpay. However, in a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that Ms. Ledbetter could not collect the wages Goodyear had cheated her of.

Under the ruling, in order to enforce her right to be paid fairly, Ms. Ledbetter would have had to file a wage-discrimination complaint within 180 days of when the decision to discriminate against her was made. Prior precedent held that each discriminatory paycheck was a new act of discrimination, restarting the clock for filing a complaint. The Court’s ruling creates an untenable disadvantage for American workers and effectively immunizes ongoing intentional pay discrimination against women.

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