House passes legislation fighting wage discrimination.
By on Jan 9th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
House passes legislation fighting wage discrimination.
Today, in a vote of 247-171, the House passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which boosts a woman’s ability to bring pay discrimination lawsuits. The bill overrules a Supreme Court decision that workers must file a discrimination claim within 180 days of a pay violation, even though many people don’t learn about the wage disparities for years. In a 256-163 vote, lawmakers also approved the Paycheck Fairness Act, which closes “loopholes that have enabled employers to evade the 1963 law requiring equal pay for equal work.” Watch House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) floor speech in support of both bills:
The House has passed both bills in the past, but they failed to become law under veto threats from President Bush.
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Good news.
January 9th, 2009 at 2:17 pmAnything with the word Fair in it was going to be vetoed by what’s-his-name.
January 9th, 2009 at 2:21 pmIn every job I’ve ever held what every employee made was a closely guarded secret. Always, employees were routinely threatened with termination if they were caught discussing their pay.
180 days to discover what your fellow workers make? Impossible. Which is, I’m certain, the point of the ruling.
January 9th, 2009 at 2:21 pmYay!
As disappointed with Pelosi as I am for declining to do a damn thing about the willful destruction of the country around her, she does pretty good at getting necessary nuts-and-bolts stuff taken care of when she’s got a majority.
Of course, that’s like saying I’m impressed with a wheel for being able to roll downhill, but I’m trying to be charitable.
January 9th, 2009 at 2:27 pm“House passes legislation fighting wage discrimination.”
That is… if there will be wages left after the economy collapses.
Check on YouTube
Chalmers Johnson
January 9th, 2009 at 2:27 pmHooray! (and I might add, it’s about time!)
Now we just need to get the Senate to follow suit.
January 9th, 2009 at 2:35 pmThis is good news, but if preznit dubya chooses to veto the measure, it will be moot.
January 9th, 2009 at 2:36 pmAnd why would dumbya do anything for the average worker?
Now that the republicans are leaving congress and bush is gone good things like this will happen.
With the republicans gone congress’s approval rating will improve dramatically. They have been pulling us down for far too long.
January 9th, 2009 at 2:42 pmYes, labor is too expensive. Men’s salaries should be lowered to equal women’s salaries. Women are helping companies stay in business by accepting low wages. It’s time for men to step up and take a pay cut.
January 9th, 2009 at 2:45 pmFred,
January 9th, 2009 at 2:47 pmAre you sure it was the Republicans that aided the demise of Congressional approval?
What did the opposition Party do to affect it?
171 voted against equal pay?
I wonder who’s party they belong to?
Repukes?
January 9th, 2009 at 2:48 pmFrosty Cupcake Says
January 9th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
In every job I’ve ever held what every employee made was a closely guarded secret. Always, employees were routinely threatened with termination if they were caught discussing their pay.
_____________________________________________________________
Mine, too. In fact, the only job I’ve ever had where there was transparency in what people got paid was when I was in the armed forces. There, only two things affected your base pay — your rank/rate and your length of service. Pay charts were all over the place, and anybody could look to see what their pay was or what anybody else’s was. Furthermore, one could see get the two factors required to determine someone’s pay just by looking at the sleeve of their uniform.
What would happen if similar transparency were to be applied to the average workplace? What if a company of — say — 30 employees had a chart listing all employees with name, job title, and yearly salary (plus applicable bonuses) — and posted this chart in the breakroom? Or, in the case of a large company, have this information available on the company intranet? If every employee is being paid fairly according to their job description and skill level, what terrible catastrophe would occur?
The only things I can think of are A) the conflicts that would arise if an employer ISN’T being fair, and B) the aspect of our culture that deems it unseemly to discuss what a person makes. However, the former is what we’re trying to avoid, and the latter is something we can surely get over.
Just a thought.
January 9th, 2009 at 2:52 pmEven right now, today.
approval ratings for:
bush 29%
repubs 25%
dems 37&
gallop
January 9th, 2009 at 2:55 pmapproval ratings for:
bush 29%
repubs 25%
dems 37%
disaproval:
January 9th, 2009 at 2:57 pmbush 67%
repubs 69%
dems 55%
This is only “good news” if it actually becomes law — which minority leader Sen. Beyotch McConnell (R-Idiot) said on NPR this morning won’t happen because he’s going to lead a fillibuster against it.
I can’t wait to see the repukes try to explain that to working women suffering through the economic disaster that 8 years of repuke mismanagement have now thrust us all into…
January 9th, 2009 at 2:57 pmGood news. And about time!
January 9th, 2009 at 3:16 pmAs expected the voting pretty much followed party affiliation. I suppose we should get used to these types of vote counts. If you hear a republican utter the word bipartisanship, he will be using reverse logic.
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll009.xml
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll008.xml
January 9th, 2009 at 3:19 pmNazi Pelosi
January 9th, 2009 at 3:20 pmShort answer: Nay = 166 Republiscums, 5 Democrats
Note: 3 Republicans actually voted Yea. Go figure.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=h2009-9
January 9th, 2009 at 3:23 pmFred,
January 9th, 2009 at 3:26 pmthanks for making my point.
While I am greatly heartened and encouraged that this was accomplished, the odds on it being anything but a symbolic gesture are right up there with the possibility of the troops being home for the inauguration. Even if it makes it to Bush.
Hopefully they can do it again in 12 days.
And Nancy, no cookie for you. If you MOC’s had done your job two years ago we wouldn’t still be waiting for this though I have to admit the idea of you getting to sign the bill is scary enough.
January 9th, 2009 at 3:46 pmHahahahahaha! Get used to those numbers, pure party line result and falls short by SEVENTY-SIX VOTES!! The only possible fly in the ointment is that they don’t have a pure party line veto-override (290), but that should be very rare if the Democratic congress only sends him bills they know he will sign.
January 9th, 2009 at 4:41 pmWhy do Republicans hate fairness?
January 9th, 2009 at 4:53 pmMcConnell and Lindsey “the Bad Soldier” Graham will probably say something like “It is God’s will for men to make more money than women”.
You can’t really win an argument with Elmer Fudd and Fogg Horn Leghorn.
January 9th, 2009 at 5:39 pmObama kept the promise he made during the campaign. Now what’s interesting is Obama is no longer a Senator and he’s not yet a President but he’s working without pay day and night for the American people. I have noticed how Americans don’t really care that the President Elect isn’t getting paid but their deamanding him to fix the problem. Now Bush who’s on the pay role is doing nothing but continue to steal. Law Makers got a really big raise in salary but do very little work for such a large amount of money. I guess when enough Americans get unemployed they will figure out the scam the Law Makers are running.
January 9th, 2009 at 10:16 pmAnd let’s not forget that bill is Hillary Clinton’s and Tom Harkin’s bill. Obama will take all the credit (par for the course)but any democrat and many a republic would have signed that bill into law. Oh, ahe original bill from 2007 was George Miller. Just giving credit where credit is due.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vskZ3iOqgYU
January 16th, 2009 at 3:18 am