On Tuesday, which was Equal Pay Day, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill joined several of her female colleagues in speaking on the Senate floor in favor of legislation that clarifies laws related to pay discrimination. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (H.R. 2831), which is expected to receive a vote later this week, would overturn a 2007 court decision that drastically limited victims’ ability to file claims of pay discrimination based on gender, race, age, religion, disability, or nation of origin.
“We need to unite behind this legislation. This is not going to be onerous for employers out there. It’s fair. It’s fair, and it’s what we pledge allegiance to every day in this room – equal justice for all,” McCaskill said today in the Senate chamber.
Motivated by a 2007 United States Supreme Court decision, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act restores a reasonable time limit in which people can file pay discrimination claims. After nearly twenty years as an employee at a Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company factory, Lilly Ledbetter filed a pay discrimination claim based on the Eqaul Pay Act of 1963. However, the United States Supreme Court ruled against her claim because she had not filed it within 180 days of the day that Goodyear decided to pay her a discriminatory wage, even though she did not learn of the pay disparity for years.
McCaskill, in her floor speech, contended it is unreasonable to expect people to know how much their colleagues earn relative to their own wages within 180 days of their first paycheck, especially in environments where discussing salaries is taboo, or even forbidden by their employers.
“There is no way women in the workplace can look at their paycheck and immediately determine that they’ve been discriminated against. Do you know why? They don’t know what anybody else is making,” McCaskill said.
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act would essentially clarify current law and put the nation right back where we were before the Ledbetter case to allow victims to file claims within 180 days of any discriminatory paycheck, giving Americans a realistic opportunity to file any necessary claims of wage bias.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:25 am
Equal pay is a load of bull. Not just for minorities, but for anyone. You accept the pay that comes with a job. If you are not satisfied by that pay, ask for more or find another job. Two people doing the same job might have very different economic motives and willing to do the work at very different prices. Why is it wrong to pay them different amounts? I could care less what my co-workers are making as long as I’m making pay that is satisfactory to me.
April 24th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
So if equal pay is a load of bull—is it also a load of bull to know whether you are getting equal pay? Do you not have a right to know what money is available in the marketplace for your services, if you can somehow make the case that you are deserving?
April 24th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Yes, it is a load of bull to “need to know” if you are getting equal pay. I’ve worked enough places to see 2 people with the same title, experience and degrees working together. However, there is always one of those people who are more productive than the other. Is it fair for the less productive worker to get equal pay for less work? No, of course not, but under much legislation, it could be contrued that they would be entitled to it. I’m too productive and employee to accept an average pay in my field. I’m worth more than that and I seek it out, proving I’m worth my pay regardless of what others at my level are making. Anyone can easily go check out salary.com and see what averages are in your area. Whether your particular company pays that is up to you negotiating with them. If you don’t like your pay, find something better. If you can’t find anything better, then be happy you have a job.
April 24th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Curtis, you assume that the pay level is on par with the work you are putting in. Would you feel the same if you knew you were working twice as hard as the guy next to you but would never earn as much, no matter how hard you worked? It’s not about “proving your worth,” its about being discounted simply because of who you are, not what you can do.
April 24th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
anon - Yes, I’d be okay with it as long as I was making as much as I wanted to make. That’s my point, if I’m okay with and have accepted my pay package, then I have no reason to complain that someone else makes more or less than myself. My response is to find something that pays more if I am not satisfied. That may mean additional training, schooling, or starting your own business. You can never judge your pay against that of someone else, only against you. If YOU don’t feel YOU are getting paid worth the work YOU are doing, then YOU need to do something about it, not the courts.
April 24th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Well, if you don’t mind being paid less than you are worth, even if you are conditioned to be happy with what you’re getting, that’s fine. I am not willing to be paid less than I am worth because of a factor I can’t control, and if employers will take advantage unless the courts step in, then the courts need to step in.
April 24th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
anon - you are obviously not happy about your current pay. What have you done to change that? Have you asked for a raise? Have you looked for another job? Do you have a degree? Are you willing to relocate?
Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for yourself.
April 24th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
I have a doctoral degree and am perfectly content with my pay. I, however, care about others besides myself.
April 25th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Ah… assuming I care only about myself (I’m greedy, capitalist, etc.) is often the response I’ve gotten from co-workers when the idea comes up also. I too care about others, just in a different way than most. I prefer to teach people to be better rather than give them what they want and may not deserve.
Give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime. Teach him how to run a fish farm and he can feed a village for a lifetime.
I spend considerable time at my job teaching others to do their jobs better, which is why I’m worth what I make. I have an MBA and teach graduate courses part time as well. I’m also in the planning stages of putting together an adult financial education organization as a not-for-profit.
I would rather spend my time and money to teach people to do better for themselves rather than force equal pay. I prefer markets rather than government. Caring about others doesn’t mean giving them things. Giving people money and objects can only go so far. Giving them knowledge and a lifeline to support themselves can never be taken away. I CARE by helping people with LONG-TERM solutions rather than short term, feel good band-aids. I don’t need to make less money so someone else can make more.
April 25th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
You are correct that caring doesn’t mean giving people things they don’t deserve. It does mean ensuring that people are treated fairly. My point is that continuously research shows that women are not paid the same as men FOR THE SAME JOB AND WORK. You keep going back to words like “deserve” and “handout,” and the statement about teaching people to do their jobs better, implying that women are asking to be paid for doing less work or lower quality work. That is not the case and that is an insulting premise.
April 25th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Did I mention my last 3 bosses (and 2 of their bosses) have been women who have been very generously paid. I’d like to really see some of those studies myself. One of the graduate courses I teach is in quantitative analysis. I see way too many media reported studies that overstate results and draw poor conclusions based on the data. And politicians citing the results of “studies” is never much convincing either. What I see at work is very different from what I hear in the media.
The people I see, in real life, complaining about fair pay do less work than those of us who perform. I’ve worked with and for plenty of well peforming women making at least their fair share of money.
April 25th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
If their fair share of money is the same as what the men are making for the same work, then all is well.