The Slow Death of the Paycheck Fairness Act

Equal pay for equal work. Simple concept, right? Yet American women make only 77 cents for every dollar that American men earn. Perhaps 23 cents doesn't sound like a lot to you, but it sure adds up: Over a lifetime, a female high school graduate will make approximately $700,000 less than her male counterpart, a college graduate will make about $1.2 million less, and females who hold professional graduate degrees miss out on $2 million.  That's not exactly small change.

Earlier this year, it seemed like some progress was being made in addressing this shocking disparity. On January 29th, President Obama signed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which restored the protections women had against discriminatory pay practices until a Supreme Court decision slapped them down. Ledbetter gave women the ability to challenge discrimination; the next logical step was to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, a law designed to prevent it from happening in the first place. The House version passed in January alongside the Fair Pay Act. It was then up to the Senate to pass its version of the bill, but they decided to table the Paycheck Fairness Act and get back to it later. It's late December and we're still waiting.

So, what exactly does the Paycheck Fairness Act do? This legislation requires employers to demonstrate that any wage gaps are due to factors other than having XX chromosomes, mandates the same court remedies for pay discrimination based on sex as on race or national origin, and prohibits retaliation against employees who ask about wage practices or reveal the size of their own paycheck. The bill cracks down on equal pay violations and authorizes additional training for Equal Employment Opportunity Commission staff. Finally, it would create a competitive grant program to train women and girls on how to squeeze better pay out of their employers' clenched fists.

Please point out what's objectionable, because I'm not seeing it. Passing the Paycheck Fairness Act seems to be a no-brainer. Are there Senators who don't support equal pay for equal work? After all, this issue affects more than just women -- it impacts entire families. According to the National Women's Law Center, if women earned the same amount as men with comparable "education, age, and union status ... their annual family income would rise by about $4,000 and their poverty rates would be cut by half or more." But apparently Congress had more important things to do this year, like protecting Americans from novelty lighters and bed bugs. Totally understandable. I hate bed bugs.

The Paycheck Fairness Act appears to be dying a slow death. Though the bill doesn't officially die until this session of Congress ends on January 3, 2011, the Senate's indefinite tabling of the bill has, in effect, sent it to an early grave. If there is any hope resuscitating the bill, now is the time. Tell your Senator now that pay equity can't wait.

PHOTO CREDIT: Rudhach