PRESS RELEASES
NOW - New York State Applauds Senator Kirsten Gillibrand for Supporting Paycheck Fairness Act: The Next Step in the Fight for Fair Pay
March 16, 2009 |
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Press Statement
by Marcia Pappas, President
The National Organization for Women-New York State Inc. is proud to stand with Senator Gillibrand, linking arms to urge the United States Senate to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. The Paycheck Fairness Act is next in the fight for fair pay.
Since women tend to hurt “first and worst” during economic downturns, new legislation strengthening pay equity laws is needed now more than ever. An unprecedented number of women are now family breadwinners due to rising employment rates--making pay equity critical, not simply to family economic security but also to the nation’s economic recovery.
Recently, NOW-NYS applauded Congress and the Obama administration for moving quickly to enact the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act. It is a critical new law that preserves the rights of victims of pay discrimination to seek vindication. However, the Ledbetter bill is only a down-payment on making real progress in closing the wage gap. The next critical step is for the Senate to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 182/H.R. 12); the House already passed the measure in January by an even stronger bipartisan vote (256-163) than the Ledbetter bill (247-171).
Passing both bills is critical to the overall goal of achieving pay equity for all. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and righted the wrongs done by the Supreme Court, regaining ground we recently lost. The Ledbetter Act is a narrow fix that simply restores legal practices and EEOC policies to what they were the day before the Supreme Court's Ledbetter decision was issued in 2007.
The Paycheck Fairness Act is a much-needed update of the 45-year-old Equal Pay Act, closing longstanding loopholes and strengthening incentives to prevent pay discrimination. Together, these bills can help to create a climate where wage discrimination is not tolerated, where fair employers can have a healthy workplace, and where the administration has the enforcement tools it needs to make real progress on ending wage discrimination.
What the Paycheck Fairness Act will do: This comprehensive bill strengthens the Equal Pay Act by taking meaningful steps to create incentives for employers to follow the law, help women to negotiate for equal pay, and strengthen federal outreach and enforcement efforts.
Specifically, the Paycheck Fairness Act would close a loophole in affirmative defenses for employers, fix the “Establishment” Requirement, prohibit employer retaliation, improve equal pay remedies, increase training, research and education, establish salary negotiation skills-training, and improve collection of pay information
Today, we applaud Senator Gillibrand for her leadership on this issue. We look forward to working with the Senator on a multitude of issues that affect women and girls. The National Organization for Woman seeks to achieve economic justice for all women.
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