Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009

Floor Speech

LILLY LEDBETTER FAIR PAY ACT OF 2009

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of two critical pieces of legislation, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act.

It is high time for the United States to end gender discrimination in the workplace and to start paying women equal pay for an equal day's work.

As the Democratic co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Women's Issues, I'm particularly concerned about how the downturn in the economy will impact women and their families. Today in the United States of America, women earn just 78 cents for every dollar earned by a man. African American women earn just 63 cents on the dollar, and Latinas earn only 53 cents for each dollar males earn, and single women earn just 56 cents for every dollar earned by a man.

These alarming statistics, coupled with the fact that women are losing their jobs at a frightening rate, makes passing the Equal Pay Act even more important, and I thank Rosa DeLauro for her leadership on that legislation.

But the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act provides adequate legal protections for wage discrimination. Lilly Ledbetter worked for 19 years at a Goodyear Tire plant and was routinely paid less than her male colleagues, including in her last paycheck. Unfortunately, the United States Supreme Court, in essence, said to employers, if you can just keep your underpaid women in the dark for 180 days, then you're free to deny her fair pay and leave her to attempt to meet her family's expenses on a salary that denies her rightful payment.

My colleagues, in this 21st century, it's time we made fairness the law of the land.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of two critical pieces of legislation, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act. It is high time for the U.S. to end gender discrimination in the workplace and start paying women equal pay for an equal day's work.

As the Democratic Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Women's Issues, I am particularly concerned about how the downturn in the economy will impact women and their families. Today, in the U.S.A. women earn just 78 cents for every dollar earned by a man. African American women earn just 63 cents on the dollar, Latinas earn only 53 cents for each dollar males earn and single women just 56 cents for every dollar earned by a man. These alarming statistics coupled with the fact that women are losing their jobs at a frightening rate makes passing pay equity legislation even more important.

I thank Rosa DeLauro for her leadership on this legislation. The Paycheck Fairness Act will help put women's wages on par with those of their male colleagues.

We must also pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to provide adequate legal protections from wage discrimination. Lilly Ledbetter worked for 19 years at a Goodyear Tire plant and was routinely paid less than her male colleagues including her last paycheck. Unfortunately the U.S. Supreme Court in essence compounded this problem when it overturned the lower court and denied her the right to seek relief from our legal system by telling her she waited too long to seek relief even through she had no way of knowing she was paid less. The Supreme Court's decision means that if an employer discriminates in paying a women but she isn't aware of it for six months, the employer can continue to discriminate for years or even decades under an immunity shield that gives that woman no legal recourse.

In other words, if employers can just keep under paid women in the dark for 180 days, they are free to deny her fair pay and leave her to attempt to meet her family's expenses on a salary that denies her rightful payment. Women should be allowed to seek legal remedies for employment discrimination and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act would remove existing barriers that prevent women from turning to the courts for help.

It is time that we help the many women this 21st century. Its time we make fairness the law of the land.

Finally, I would strongly recommend to all my colleagues if you want to do the right thing, if you want to be on the side of the women in your district, and if you do not want to be on the wrong side of history, cast a proud yes vote for the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

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