Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009

Floor Speech

LILLY LEDBETTER FAIR PAY ACT OF 2009 -- (House of Representatives - January 27, 2009)

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, in my earlier remarks on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, I highlighted the first-rate work of AFSCME Council 26, affiliated with the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO, in a sex discrimination lawsuit brought by female custodians against the Architect of the Capitol, which is another way of saying the Congress of the United States of America. The women custodians were being paid one dollar less than their male co-workers. I referred to the female custodians' lawsuit in my remarks because without AFSCME's representation, this discrimination right here in Congress might never have been uncovered, just as Lilly Ledbetter did not discover the equal pay violations until after she retired.

The women's Equal Pay Act lawsuit was historic as well because it was the first class-action under the Congressional Accountability Act that holds Congress to the same employment laws as our constituents. The class was expertly represented by lawyers Barbara Kraft and Sarah Starrett. By getting the women class certified, AFSCME and its lawyers were able to exert maximum leverage and, therefore, negotiate a just settlement with the Architect of the Capitol. The case underscores the importance of undoing the Supreme Court's Ledbetter decision and restoring the long-standing interpretation of the Equal Pay Act. The Congress, the body representing the people, had been systematically and shamefully discriminating against its own workers.

I had been a strong supporter of these women since they first filed their lawsuit. As a former chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, who had responsibility for enforcing the Equal Pay Act, I felt at the time that it was my obligation to bring the female custodians' case to the attention of other Members, and I spoke on the floor about the case in March 2000. I joined AFSCME and the women at a press conference on Equal Pay Day on May 10, 2000, to push for equal pay for these women as well as all other women in the workforce. After the women settled with the government, I was delighted when I was invited to help hand-deliver their settlement checks.

The Ledbetter decision undermined the ability of unions like AFSCME to uncover and protect workers from discrimination, and I was proud to cite the work of AFSCME, Barbara Kraft, Sarah Starrett and the women custodians of the U.S. Congress as the best evidence of the need for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.

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