DeLauro Applauds White House Announcement on Advancing Pay Equity

Urges President to Ban Retaliation by GovernmentContractors

WASHINGTON, DC— Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) releasedthe following statement today on the President's announcement that the federalgovernment will develop a government-wide strategy for advancing pay equity anddirecting each agency to review its pay and promotion policies and practices. DeLauro, author of the Paycheck Fairness Act, is a longtimechampion for equal pay and has called on the Administration to ban governmentcontractors from penalizing employees who share their salary. Such retaliationhas a chilling effect on the transparency that is crucial to ending payinequality.

"Today's announcement is one step forward in the fight forpay equity and I applaud President Obama for taking it. Equal pay for equalwork is not just about women, but when women make up half the workforce, it isabout families who badly need that hard earned money to pay bills and achievethe American Dream.

"However, there is still much to be done and the Presidentshould take the next step of banning government contractors from retaliatingagainst employees who share their salary. We must end this veil of secrecy thatkeeps women from being paid equally for doing the same jobs as their fathers,husbands and brothers.