Posts Tagged Paycheck Fairness Act
Posted by bneufeld on May 23, 2012 at 05:44 am
MIKULSKI, SENATE DEMOCRATS AND ADVOCACY GROUPS TO URGE SENATE PASSAGE OF PAYCHECK FAIRNESS ACT
Effort Follows Mikulski Reintroduction of Bill Tuesday to Support Pay Equity for Women
Senator Reid Expected to File Cloture on Bill This Thursday
State by State Wage Gap Data Available
WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 2:30 p.m., U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, will be joined at a press conference by Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), along with representatives of the American Association of University Women (AAUW),the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), the National Partnership for Women and Families (NPWF) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to urge the Senate to immediately take up and pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation which will help close the wage gap between women and men working equivalent jobs, costing women and their families $360,000 over their careers. Senator Mikulski reintroduced the legislation on Tuesday. Read More
Tags:aauw, aclu, boxer, dol, Equal Pay, feinstein, mulaski, murray, npwf, nwlc, Paycheck Fairness Act, reid, Wage Gap
Filed Under: Events, News
Posted by bneufeld on April 17, 2012 at 11:27 am
2012 Equal Pay Day/Sen. Gillibrand w/ Maria Hinojosa
On Monday, April 16 Senator Kirsten Gillibrand addressed 300 advocates at a forum (#equalpaydayny) sponsored by the Equal Pay Coalition NYC, a project of the New York Women’s Agenda, with co-sponsors, A Better Balance and NYU Law Women. “As we mark yet another Equal Pay Day, it is alarming that in the 21st century, millions of women who make up half the workforce are earning 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. We must close this chronic gap that shortchanges America’s women,” Read More
Posted by bneufeld on November 18, 2010 at 13:00 pm
The Equal Pay Coalition NYC & NYWA want to acknowledge the leadership and support that our NY Senators displayed throughout the recent fight to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. These stalwart, outspoken proponents of PFA and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act proudly represented the call of our community for wage discrimination reform. This was not the case in other states like Maine and Massachusetts where advocates poured out in favor of PFA, but 3 Senators rebuffed the will of constituents, thus defeating the bill. Senators Gillibrand and Schumer will continue the fight with us in the future, as will the Administration. In the coalition statement released yesterday, see below, they shared their thoughts on this setback. We thank them and all the New Yorkers and advocates countrywide who called, emailed, blogged, tweeted, and probably prayed for success. It’s not over! Our coalitions will continue this work here in NYC and NYS where there is substantial support for #fairpay laws and policies. Onward!
——————————–Coalition Statement————————
Paycheck Fairness Act Fails to Pass Procedural Vote
New York Coalitions Vow to Push for Stronger Local Laws
In a disappointing Senate procedural vote of 58-41, the Paycheck Fairness Act was prevented from moving forward to a floor debate and final vote. Despite widespread support from a coalition of 400 organizations, the White House, and Americans across the country, the Senate fell short of passing historic and necessary legislation to address the persistent gap between men’s and women’s wages.
This missed opportunity for the Senate is a major loss for women and families. The New York Women’s Agenda and Equal Pay Coalition NYC join the chorus of groups and leaders vowing to continue the fight for economic equity and strong wage discrimination laws.
“New York women, their families and our state cannot afford the cost of pay inequity,” said Beverly Cooper Neufeld, spokesperson for the New York Women’s Agenda and Equal Pay Coalition NYC. “With a federal remedy on hold, our coalitions will continue the push for stronger state and local laws like the NYS Fair Pay Act, which was close to passage last year.”
In New York, unequal pay creates a wage gap between full-time working men and women of $8,590. On average, nationally, women still make only 77 cents for every dollar men earn. By some estimates women could lose between $500,000 and $1 million over a 40-year career.
Leaders across the country denounce the Senate’s rejection of PFA:
Senator Charles Schumer: “Half a century after the Equal Pay Act promised equal pay for equal work, women today earn only 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. As the father of two girls, one in the labor market and one about to enter it, I am deeply disappointed that not a single Senate Republican was willing to cross the aisle in favor of the Paycheck Fairness Act. In the new Congress, my fellow Democrats and I will continue to fight to pass this vital legislation and close the pay gap once and for all.”
Senator Kristin Gillibrand: “It is outrageous that Republicans blocked a vote on Paycheck Fairness Act today. We must eliminate pay disparities between women and men.”
President Obama: “…This bill passed in the House almost two years ago; today, it had 58 votes to move forward, the support of the majority of Senate, and the support of the majority of Americans. As we emerge from one of the worst recessions in history, this bill would ensure that American women and their families are bringing home smaller paychecks because of discrimination. It also helps businesses that pay equal wages as they struggle to compete against discriminatory competition. But a partisan minority of Senators blocked this commonsense law. Despite today’s vote, my Administration will continue to fight for a woman’s right to equal pay for equal work.”
Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis: “… the issue of pay equity is far too important to give up. I remain committed to the fight for this commonsense reform, and my department will redouble its efforts to ensure America’s women are not treated as second class citizens by employers who refuse to compensate them in a fair and equitable manner.”
“This was a missed opportunity to make history and jump start real economic change for American women and their families,” said AAUW Executive Director Linda D. Hallman, CAE. “While the Senate’s action is difficult to comprehend given the stark reality that most families depend on the paychecks of women, our effort to close the pay gap is far from over.”
Posted by bneufeld on November 15, 2010 at 12:40 pm
The critical vote is Nov 17! We are within striking distance of passing the Paycheck Fairness Act!
CALL: 1-877-667-6650 and follow easy instructions.
MESSAGE: Vote for the Paycheck Fairness Act without amendments! American women are watching!
TWEET: It’s time for #fairpay ! Sign petitions @fairpay
BATGIRL VIDEO: www.outofthewayoffairpay.org
Batgirl vs. UnFair Pay
PFA: KEY PROVISIONS
Equal work deserves equal pay. In this time of economic crisis, women and families cannot afford to bear the burden of this discrimination. The Paycheck Fairness Act would make it harder for employers to hide pay discrimination, would help train women and girls about salary negotiation, support government collection of critical wage data, and reward employers that have good pay practices.
For employees, the Paycheck Fairness Act would:
• Prohibit employers from retaliating against workers who discuss salaries with their colleagues;
• Require that employers defend any gender pay disparities by showing that the pay differences exist for legitimate, job-related reasons;
• Remove an inequality in wage discrimination law so that remedies available to plaintiffs in Equal Pay Act claims will be the same as the damages available to plaintiffs who file pay discrimination claims under other laws;
• Remove obstacles in the Equal Pay Act to facilitate participation in class action lawsuits challenging systemic pay discrimination; and
• Create a negotiation skills training program for women and girls.
For employers, the Paycheck Fairness Act would:
• Recognize employers for excellence in their pay practices; and
• Provide assistance to all businesses, with a special focus on small businesses, to help them with their equal pay practices.
For enforcement agencies, the Paycheck Fairness Act would:
• Ensure the Department of Labor utilizes the full range of investigatory tools to uncover pay discrimination, including collecting wage data from federal contractors; and
• Direct the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to conduct a survey of what pay information is available to assist federal agencies with enforcing pay discrimination laws and to use that information to create a system to collect wage data.
Posted by bneufeld on September 29, 2010 at 17:43 pm
It’s official….Congress is in recess and slated to return Nov 15th. Senator Reid has told our coalition that the Paycheck Fairness Act will be on the agenda in the lame duck session. We will have to make sure he keeps his word! Read the PFA Congressional Leaders Dodd and DeLauro Opinion Piece: “In these tough times, every dollar counts. But all across America, companies are, in effect, pilfering money from the family budget by paying women less than men who do the same jobs.”
Full piece: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/42842.html
Posted by bneufeld on September 27, 2010 at 09:48 am
Our national coalition responded powerfully and quickly to last week’s Opinion Piece doubting wage gap. Here are all 3 Letters to the Editor.
Re “Fair Pay Isn’t Always Equal Pay” (Op-Ed, Sept. 22): Christina Hoff Sommers’s ominous warnings of “multimillion-dollar lawsuits” should the Paycheck Fairness Act pass smell of fear-mongering hyperbole. We’ve heard it before, when critics warned that lawsuits would flood our courts after the passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. It hasn’t happened.
The wage gap is real. Our 2007 report, “Behind the Pay Gap,” which controlled for factors flagged by Ms. Sommers, like education and experience, found that college-educated women earn less than men with comparable backgrounds. Even the Bush administration acknowledged the existence of the wage gap.
The latest analysis Ms. Sommers cites, which shows young women outearning young men, needs to be viewed with a skeptical eye. The average American woman still earns 23 percent less than her male counterpart earns, a gap that is widest among older women and smallest among younger women.
With two-income families the norm, and with women increasingly assuming the role of primary breadwinner, Ms. Sommers’s criticism of the Paycheck Fairness Act reminds us of Chicken Little crying about the falling sky. Widely seen as an excellent tool to help close the gender wage gap, the Paycheck Fairness Act isn’t about lawsuits. It’s about American families. And it’s time we put them first.
Linda D. Hallman, Executive Director, American Association of University Women
Read More
Posted by bneufeld on September 20, 2010 at 12:08 pm
September 19, 2010 – Annual earnings data released last Thursday by the Census Bureau confirm a troubling discrepancy facing women workers and their families. Full-time women employees still make, on average, only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men — a lingering gender gap that depresses women’s pay by thousands of dollars.
This latest confirmation of disparate compensation poses an immediate challenge for the Senate, where important legislation aimed at combating gender-based wage discrimination now hangs in the balance.
The measure, the Paycheck Fairness Act, would accomplish a much-needed updating and strengthening of the nation’s 47-year-old Equal Pay Act.
Key provisions would enhance the remedies available for victims of gender-based discrimination, protect employees from retaliation for sharing salary information with co-workers, and require employers to show that wage differences are job-related, not sex-based, and driven by business necessity.
The clock is ticking. The bill, which has strong backing from the Obama White House, has already passed the House by a wide margin. With scant time remaining in the Congressional session, the Senate must act quickly to pass the bill or it will die.
The fact that the Senate bill has no Republican co-sponsors speaks volumes about the prevailing partisan atmosphere on Capitol Hill.
But four G.O.P. senators — Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — supported another measure targeting wage discrimination just last year. By standing up again for America’s women when the Paycheck Fairness Act finally reaches the Senate floor, they would advance the cause significantly.
Posted by bneufeld on January 26, 2010 at 18:51 pm
Last year on January 29th , after a long struggle, President Obama was presented the Lilly Ledbetter Act, the first bill he signed into law. This law restored the ability of workers to vindicate their right to equal pay in court, putting the law back to where it had been for decades. But, as Lilly said that day – “This is the beginning, not the end.”
ONE YEAR LATER:
! Paycheck Fairness Act is still stuck in the Senate. While Ledbetter restored the law, Paycheck Fairness strengthens the law and plugs loopholes in the 1963 Equal Pay Act.
! The gap between men’s and women’s earnings still hovers at 77 percent…and for women of color it’s much lower.
! New York Senate missed the opportunity to pass the Fair Pay Act to protect our workers.
! Economic times are worse and no man or woman can afford to be shortchanged by pay discrimination.
NOW:
The Equal Pay Coalition NYC is working to insure that all New Yorkers have access to good jobs….access to capital….and fair pay. Join this campaign!
Sign up for our ACTION NETWORK
Contact your Senators about Paycheck Fairness Act
MARK YOUR CALENDAR – APRIL 19th – EQUAL PAY DAY activities in NYC
TELL YOUR STORY – Share what pay inequity really means
STUDENTS – Apply for our Fellowship or College Leadership Council
LILLY SUCCEEDED…IT’S OUR TURN NOW!
