DeLauro Lauds Senate Passage of Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

Senate takes important 1st step to restore fair pay laws, help close wage gap

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn. -3) praised the bipartisan Senate passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (S. 181) as an important first step in the effort to begin to close the wage gap between men and women. The legislation restores the law as it was prior to the Supreme Court's decision by clarifying that each paycheck resulting from a discriminatory pay decision would constitute a new violation of employment nondiscrimination law.

"This is a victory for women and families across the country. While Lilly Ledbetter will not receive the pay she deserves, this Congress, with passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is making certain that others do not lose their right to fight pay discrimination," said DeLauro. "With the economy placing additional pressure on families to make ends meet, it is even more critical that women who do the same job as men earn the same wage. And when women face discriminatory pay, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act ensures that they have the power to change it. I congratulate, my colleague Senator Barbara Mikulski – a true champion for equal pay—and the entire Senate on taking this critical step in our effort to end discriminatory pay based on gender."

To continue the effort to ensure equal pay for equal work, DeLauro urged the Senate to also take up the Paycheck Fairness Act, which aims to close the wage gap between men and women by strengthening and giving teeth to the Equal Pay Act and closing loopholes that have allowed employers to avoid responsibility for discriminatory pay. Earlier in January, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Ledbetter bill on a bipartisan vote of 247 -171, as well as the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 12), on a bipartisan vote of 256 – 163

"To truly close the wage gap between men and women we must face gender discrimination head-on and eliminate the systemic discrimination faced by women. We can do that with the Paycheck Fairness Act and I strongly urge the Senate to take up this important legislation. With the Paycheck Fairness Act we will give teeth to the Equal Pay Act and make certain that women have the tools they need to get equal pay for equal work."

The Paycheck Fairness Act corrects the deficiencies in the remedies available under the Equal Pay Act and eliminates a shortcoming of the act that has diminished its value as a vehicle for addressing unlawful pay disparities. It also prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who share salary information with their co-workers, as well as, creates a training program to help women strengthen their negotiation skills, and require the Department of Labor to work with employers to eliminate pay disparities by enhancing outreach and training efforts