House to Vote on Fair Pay Act

Well it looks like one of my predictions for 2009 may come true faster than anticipated.

6. Congress will Pass the Fair Pay Act. I am optimistic that the Democrats will finally be able to pass the Fair Pay Act - making equal pay for equal work a reality.

The Feminist Majority just sent out this urgent petition today saying that there is a House Floor Vote expected this week on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act.

Of course the passage of the legislation will depend on not only the House vote, but also the Senate - which is where it got held up last time.

A recent New York Times article describes why the Obama administration is going to back the swift passage of this legislation in the new Congress:

President-elect Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress are planning swift action to overturn a Supreme Court decision that made it much harder for people to challenge discrimination in employment, education, housing and other fields.

The decision, involving a woman named Lilly M. Ledbetter, who had accused her employer of sex-based pay discrimination, was issued in May 2007. Since then, courts around the country have gone far beyond the facts of that case and cited it as a reason for rejecting lawsuits claiming discrimination based on race, sex, age and disability....

...In a dissenting opinion, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Ms. Ledbetter’s pay fell behind that of men because of “a long series of decisions reflecting Goodyear’s pervasive discrimination against women managers in general and Ledbetter in particular.”

Justice Ginsburg invited Congress to correct the court’s “cramped interpretation” of the law.

That is exactly what Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats say they plan to do.

Their bill states that a violation occurs each time a person receives a paycheck resulting from “a discriminatory compensation decision.”

The House passed a similar bill, 225 to 199, in July 2007. In the Senate, supporters fell three votes short of the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster, but they will almost surely be able to clear that hurdle in the new Congress.

You can make my 2009 prediction become a reality by telling your representative to vote "YES" for equal pay for equal work in this week's vote.