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House Passes Bill to Help Enforce Gender Pay Equity; GOP Says Boon to Trial Lawyers

Thursday 31 July 2008

by: Jesse J. Holland  |  The Associated Press

photo
A group of young women demonstrate in favor of equal pay for equal work, a principle that has been a central tenet of the feminist movement since the 1970s. Now, it appears that the concept may inch closer toward reality: the House passed a bill last week that would solidify a ban on wage discrimination in the workplace. (Photo: Britannica.com)

    Washington - House Democrats pushed through legislation Thursday that would give women new tools to combat pay discrimination.

    The pay equity measure, which passed by a 247-178 vote, would treat gender discrimination involving pay in the same as race, disability and age discrimination. The bill would allow for compensatory and punitive damages, ban employers from retaliating against workers who share their salary with colleagues, and force employers to prove that paying a women less than a man is job-related and necessary.

    "This is a historic step forward in the fight for equal rights for women," said Democratic Rep. George Miller of California, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee.

    Congress passed the Equal Pay Act in 1963, but Democrats said companies continually have found ways around it. The Institute of Women's Policy Research says wage disparity will cost a woman as much as $2 million over her lifetime in lost wages.

    "Some will have you believe that the wage gap for women is a myth, that we already have laws in place to make pay discrimination on the basis of gender illegal," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. "But just because something is illegal, does not mean that it does not continue to happen."

    Republicans said the legislation would benefit trial lawyers, a Democratic constituency.

    The bill "isn't needed to protect women from wage discrimination. Such protection is already found in the law," said Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon of Calif., the top Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee. "At the end of the day this bill will invite more lawyers to file more lawsuits because it offers them a bigger payday."

    Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., said companies generally do a good job on pay equity. "The bill before the House treats pay discrimination as systemic," Price said.

    Added House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio: "This bill does little more than dole out favors to the Democrats' trial lawyer allies with no new benefit to protect workers."

    The White House has threatened to veto the bill, saying the proposal would make enforcement of current equal pay laws "more difficult and error-prone and invite a surge of litigation."

    The bill now goes to the Senate, where similar legislation has been introduced.

  

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Comments

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Seems to me that there is a

 Mon, 08/04/2008 - 23:16 — jpoverseas (not verified)
Seems to me that there is a really simple solution for Republican crocodile tears over those poor put upon employers who will be hounded into bankruptcy by greedy and unscrupulous trial lawyers. How about the employers paying the same wage to men and women who do the same work?

I'd like the Republicans to

 Tue, 08/05/2008 - 00:02 — Anonymous (not verified)
I'd like the Republicans to explain to me how a gender pay gap still exists if there is enough law on the subject. I'd like them to also explain how, if it isn't because the law closes loopholes and strengthens existing law, this one can end up being a "payday for trial lawyers". It seems to me that the only way a trial lawyer can make money is if they win a suit against a company that isn't following the law. Hmmmm. The other thing I just don't understand is why Republicans love corporate lawyers that help companies run roughshod over the law, the people and the environment while avoiding taxes, but hate trial lawyers who often are the ones holding these same companies accountable for their illegal actions, the only ones willing to stand up for individual (and, yes, class action) rights. If a company knowingly pays women less than men, they SHOULD pay hefty penalties. This teaches them it's more profitable to follow the law while it teaches others the same thing. This is called punishment to fit the offense. What I want the Republicans to explain to me is why corporate profits (and the small percentage of citizens who reap most of them) are more important than the other 95% of the population. ~~ Lane Baldwin - alifewithspirit.blogspot.com

To "Anonymous" (let's start

 Tue, 08/05/2008 - 03:19 — Mike in NYC (not verified)
To "Anonymous" (let's start using screen names, OK?): a trial lawyer can make money when a company settles out of court. One should not automatically read this as an admission of "guilt." It can just as likely be a way of avoiding the ________-ist label (fill in the blank), the modern equivalent of a Scarlet Letter.

Will women have only 6months

 Tue, 08/05/2008 - 05:00 — Anonymous (not verified)
Will women have only 6months to file suit (as in the Ledbetter Supreme court decision)? This article does not answer a lot of questions. Unless employers make pay a public matter, there will always be cases where women have been systematically discriminated against without knowing. I would hope the parity (with other groups) eraces the timeline of the Ledbetter decision.