Thursday, January 29, 2009

The Paycheck Fairness Act

A heads up for everyone about The Paycheck Fairness Act.

First, from Labor Law Center Blog is House Passes Paycheck Fairness Act:

"The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Paycheck Fairness Act, an amendment to the FLSA or federal Fair Labor Standards Act."

The Paycheck Fairness Act, also known as HB 12, would amend provisions of the FLSA to revise remedies and improve enforcement efforts for preventing wage discrimination based on an employee’s gender.


This act is likely to pass the Senate and be signed into law by President Barack Obama. If it does, employers may face many more lawsuits for discrimination based on gender.

Every employer should have a clear written policy prohibiting discrimination in the workplace, including gender discrimination and wage discrimination.

The Paycheck Fairness Act was passed to provide regulator support for the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.


The voting was largely along party lines, with many Democrats supporting the bill, including Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, one of the bill’s chief sponsors. “In this economy, families are struggling to make ends meet. Not one of them deserves to be shortchanged, but because women still earn 78 cents for every dollar men earn, many unfortunately are,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn, chief sponsor of HR 12. “Today, by passing the Paycheck Fairness Act, we send a strong message that gender discrimination is unacceptable and women will have the tools they need to combat it.”
Second, from The Washington Post comes Senate Passes Wage-Discrimination Bill :

"A wage-discrimination bill that narrowly failed less than a year ago moved closer to becoming law last night, when the Senate passed the legislation and sent it back to the House for final consideration.
The measure, approved 61 to 36, would overturn a Supreme Court decision to make it easier for women to sue employers for pay inequity, regardless of when the discrepancies took place. It may become the first legislation signed by President Obama, who campaigned in favor of it."