DeLauro Votes to Send Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to President

Bill restores worker's rights, critical 1st step to help close wage gap

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn. -3) enthusiastically joined with her colleagues to give final approval to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (S. 181) and to send the bill to President Barack Obama as one of the first major pieces of legislation he will sign into law. This important step in the effort to close the wage gap between men and women would restore federal law by reversing a Supreme Court decision that left women without remedy to pursue gender-based pay discrimination.

"This is a proud moment for women, families, our country and this Congress. By acting on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, we are sending a strong message about our priorities as an institution and our goals for the months and years ahead. It says we are a nation that values the work women do in our society," said DeLauro. "We have come a long way to reach this point, and now, we have just a little further to go – to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for President Obama to sign the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law and make a critical step toward ending gender based pay discrimination."

The legislation clarifies that each paycheck resulting from a discriminatory pay decision would constitute a new violation of employment nondiscrimination law. As long as workers file their charges within 180 days of a discriminatory paycheck, their charges would be considered timely. This was the law prior to the Supreme Court's May 2007 decision.

Added 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. When women face discriminatory pay, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act ensures that they have the power to change it. "

To continue the effort to ensure equal pay for equal work, DeLauro also called for Senate passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act and expressed confidence that they would do so. The bill 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 House passed the Ledbetter bill (247 -171) in tandem with 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 co-workers, as well as, creates a training program to help women strengthen their negotiation skills, and require the Labor Department to work with employers to eliminate pay disparities by enhancing outreach and training efforts