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.

They’re China bound!

Gov. Matt Blunt, along with U.S. Senators Kit Bond and Claire McCaskill, are going on a bipartisan trade mission to China this week. The politicians will work on “creating new economic development opportunities between China and Missouri.” They will be heading to the People’s Republic of China with high-level members of government, business and civic leaders from the St. Louis area.

“Missouri businesses have shattered export records every year since I took office in 2005,” Gov. Blunt said in a press release Monday. “This bipartisan trade mission to China, one of our most important trading partners, will help strengthen business relations and help continue Missouri’s outstanding job growth.”

A who’s who of state and St. Louis politics are making the trip including: U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley, former Gov. Bob Holden who serves as the vice chairman of the Midwest U.S.-China Association.

Business leaders making the trek include Richard C. D. Fleming, president and CEO of the St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association (RCGA); David L. Steward, chairman and CEO of World Wide Technology; and executives with Pfizer, Peabody Energy, Unigroup, McEagle Properties, the World Trade Center St. Louis, and Lambert St. Louis International Airport.

It’s Feb. 17, 2009.

You’re sitting in your chair, Big Gulp in one hand, the remote in the other ready to relax by watching nobodies warble their way on the American Idol, but when you turn your TV on something isn’t right. The signal isn’t going through.

Did the network mess up? Did someone knock out a power transistor? Is your TV broke?

The answer is no! It’s just you have antennas and the world is no longer about analog. Everything is going digital in 2009, whether you’re ready or not.

All television networks and stations are switching over to digital Feb. 17 next year and US Senator Claire McCaskill wants to make sure Missouri residents are ready for the switch.

McCaskill’s staff will be hosting “Kitchen Table Talks” in St. Louis City and County to help answer the questions of residents about the transition.

They will give Missouri residents information about the resources provided by the government to help citizens make the switch to digital television or DTV.

Once the transition is in effect next Feb. all analog televisions not connected to cable, satellite or a digital converter box will go dark. More than 400,000 Missouri residents still use analog televisions with only basic, free channels.

“We need to get the word out about how the government can help,” McCaskill said in a recent a press release.

To help with the transition the government is sponsoring a voucher program where citizens will receive two $40 vouchers to purchase converter boxes for analog TV sets.

The converters tend to cost between $40 and $60.

For more information or to receive a voucher call 1-888-DTV-2009 or visit dtv2009.gov.

Below is the schedule for McCaskill’s Kitchen Table Talks.

Thursday, March 20
Noon-2 p.m., Bridgeton Community/Senior Center, 4201 Fee Fee Rd., Bridgeton, Mo.

Monday, March 24
Noon-2 p.m., Winter Garden Apartments, 5708 Kingsbury, St. Louis, Mo. 63112

Friday, March 27
10 a.m.-Noon, North County Senior Towne, 528 Northwest Plaza (St. Charles Rock Rd. and North Lindbergh), St. Ann, Mo.